Virat Kohli ton flays Pune

Bangalore captain Virat Kohli slammed his second century of this edition of the Indian Twenty20 League to help his side chase down a steep total of 192 with seven wickets in hand, against Pune. Kohli anchored the chase with an unbeaten 108 of 58 balls that comprised eight fours and seven sixes.

He laid a strong base for the chase with a 94-run opening stand with KL Rahul. Adam Zampa, however, hit back in the 12th over by sending back Rahul and AB de Villiers. With 89 required from 42 balls, Shane Watson smashed Thisara Perera for five fours in an over and followed that up with two sixes off Rajat Bhatia in the next over as the equation boiled down to 40 off the last three overs. Kohli, in the 18th over, then took charge by hitting Zampa for sixes off his first two deliveries and four off his fourth. In the next over, he hit RP Singh for sixes off his last two balls - the first one bringing up his second T20 century - and Bangalore required just four of the final over.

He sealed the chase with a boundary off the third ball of the final over - a win that helped infuse some life into his side poor campaign so far.

Pune's total of 191 was built on brisk half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and Saurabh Tiwary. The pair posted a 106-run second-wicket stand, but the middle order failed to give Pune that late flourish that would take them past 200.

"I was pretty determined tonight, last time in Hyderabad we had to chase down 192 and we were pumped up. Today I was motivated to go that extra mile and we needed to win six out of seven to qualify. I'm just happy we could pull that one off. It's never easy in a chase when you need to find boundaries at the right time. Brilliant contributions from KL and Watson in the middle overs too," Kohli said at the end of the match.

"I always check my heart rate (laughs), if it's fine then I can take better decisions. It's all about keeping your nerves and enthusiasm in check. I try to focus on myself and what I need to do and I convince myself completely before going for it. When you are chasing 12-13 per over and losing wickets, you can't bog down. You'd rather pick an area and get your boundaries there. It's about understanding the situation and doing what suits best at that time. Even today I was not keen on celebrating too much after the hundred, the victory matters more for the team."