Virat Kohli powers Bangalore to emphatic win

Virat Kohli's dream-run in the Indian Twenty20 competition continued as he smashed his fourth ton of the season that helped Bangalore thrash a hapless Punjab by 82 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in Bangalore on Wednesday.

Murali Vijay, Punjab's captain, won the toss and opted to bowl first on a batting-friendly track. It was a decision he rued, as Kohli and his opening partner Chris Gayle - who managed just three fours in the first three overs - tore into the Sandeep Sharma and Kyle Abbott thereafter.

Gayle led the charge and clubbed Abbott for two sixes and a four in the fourth over of the match. He then hit KC Cariappa for a six and a four in the next over, before Kohli switched gears and hit his first maximum. There was no stopping Kohli thereafter as he hit four fours and two sixes in the three overs that followed. Bangalore's openers added 53 in the Powerplay.

Kohli scored his 50 off 27 balls and Gayle from 26. Punjab's bowlers tried in vain to break the stand, as the duo injected more venom into their innings after they registered 50 each. Kohli lofted Cariappa for three sixes in the 10th over, before Gayle did the same to Axar Patel an over later. Patel eventually dismissed Gayle off the last ball of the same over for a 32-ball 73.

AB de Villiers was the next to fall in the 12th over, for zero. The double blow didn't affect Kohli, who continued finding the fence with ease. The right hander hit Mohit Sharma for three fours in the 13th and then Sandeep for two fours and a six in the 14th, to bring up his century. Kohli eventually fell for a 50-ball 113 that helped Bangalore amass 211 in their innings.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Bangalore's leg spinner, was the pick of their bowlers and claimed 4 for 25. Punjab managed just 120 runs before rain brought a premature end to the match.

"When all that was happening out there, I thought surely I can't get a 100 in 15 overs. I wasn't believing that it was happening," Kohli said. "Chris, looked dangerous in the last game, he was in the zone again today. Everything is coming together."

In the previous tournaments, we panicked. But hopefully we can continue what we have been doing. My main aim is to get runs, it doesn't matter how I play. Momentum is a big thing in T20s, when you get into the zone, you feel you can hit any ball. So you just want to give yourself."

"Today was a shortened game, but I was glad we got 15 overs in. We were desperate to get onto the park. It wouldn't have mattered even if it was a five-overs game. We wanted four in four, we now have three in three. So there's no reason why we can't win. We have got to that stage, where we've stopped thinking about other teams. We are just relaxed, the guys in the dugout are doing a great job. We've got the momentum now."