The de Villiers-Kohli mutual admiration society

Chris Gayle fell for his eighth successive single-digit score when he chopped Dhawal Kulkarni on for 6 in the fourth over. The cutters from Praveen Kumar and Kulkarni were sticking in the surface, and Royal Challengers Bangalore were in danger of posting a sub-par total again, having managed 151 against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday. AB de Villiers, however, snuffled out all the apprehensions. Chinaman bowler Shivil Kaushik was cautious of not floating the ball in de Villiers' hitting arc. Kaushik's first legal ball to de Villiers was a whippy one on a perfect length around the off stump. It initially looked like de Villiers had misjudged the length when he went deep in the crease. His nimble footwork eventually ensured that he got under the ball and unleashed a muscular drive over the covers for six.

"I didn't feel too good in the beginning. It was difficult to time the ball initially," de Villiers said after his unbeaten 129 off 52 balls. If this was a struggling de Villiers, then Royal Challengers were perhaps a few runs short.

After a slow start, Royal Challengers were 31 for 1 in five overs. Pravin Tambe was introduced in the last over of the Powerplay. He opted to pack his off-side infield. His third ball was a flat one on de Villiers' pads. The ball gripped and the batsman was through with his flick early, which resulted in a leading edge to point. Tambe's next delivery was fuller and straighter, which allowed de Villiers to smother the spin with ease. Choosing to play with the turn this time, de Villiers backed away, cleared his front foot, and laced a square drive. He met the ball discernibly late to find the gap. Tambe's inflated confidence after extracting purchase on a pitch suited to seamers was quickly shattered by a combination of classy footwork and deft touch.

By the 15th over, de Villiers was unstoppable. He had raced to 72 off 35 balls. Tambe had just erred in length, having tossed up a full ball in de Villiers' arc that was duly walloped over midwicket for six. To compensate, Tambe shortened the length of his next ball - a darter outside off that lacked turn. De Villiers was waiting. De Villiers was hunting. Anticipating that length, he rocked back and let the slider drift onto his bat before playing his stroke. De Villiers transferred his weight onto the back foot at the last instant and opened the face of the bat. He generated enough power to carve the ball over point. Tambe was left confounded.

Praveen has been executing his yorkers well this season. With Royal Challengers coasting at 136 for 1, Brendon McCullum, Gujarat Lions' stand-in captain, brought Praveen back for the 16th over. His first ball was an inch-perfect yorker to de Villiers, who managed to drive to cover. De Villiers then improvised like he had done during the match against Kings XI Punjab.

Another yorker was sent down by Praveen from around the wicket. De Villiers bent low and shuffled outside the line to convert it into a low full toss and help it on its way. Another scoop, but it wasn't just another six. It landed on the roof over the backward square leg boundary. Necks craned and the Chinnaswamy resonated in applause. Virat Kohli and de Villiers looked at each other. Seconds later, de Villiers wryly smiled, but Kohli continued to wear a perplexed look.

Until the 18th over, Kohli had anchored Royal Challengers' innings with a patient fifty. After raucously applauding de Villiers, the Bangalore crowd switched to deafening chants of "Kohli, Kohli," for the first time in the afternoon.

Dwayne Bravo, Gujarat Lions' end-overs specialist, had two overs left. Kohli lofted a drive over the covers off Bravo's first ball, which prompted sweeper cover to move squarer. The West Indies allrounder's next ball was on a similar line and length - full on off stump. Kohli, aware of the field change, had the option of changing the stroke. Instead, he repeated the cover drive, but tweaked the execution. With a straight bat, he checked the stroke, slicing the ball and placing it finer. Kohli had, somehow, got enough propulsion for the ball to clear the sweeper cover boundary. It was de Villiers' turn to be astonished.

Lions' best bowlers had been plundered. Royal Challengers had passed 200 after 18 overs. Kaushik, bowling the penultimate over, was the next to bear the brunt of Kohli. After being dispatched from around the stumps, Kaushik switched angles and came from over the wicket. He fired a full delivery on middle stump with to prevent Kohli from getting under the length. It worked, to an extent. Kohli brought his bat down at an angle and shovelled the heave. Yet, such was the bat speed that the ball sailed into the stands beyond midwicket. Nothing stopped Kohli as he surged to his third century in IPL 2016.