Record knock powers Kings XI to massive win

KL Rahul hit the highest IPL score by an Indian batsman, a stunning 132no off just 69 balls, as the Kings XI Punjab thumped Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai.

Dropped twice by RCB skipper Virat Kohli, Rahul exploded in the final two overs off the innings, smacking 42 runs off his final nine deliveries.

Australian duo Aaron Finch (20 from 21 balls) and Josh Phillipe (who made a duck after being promoted to No.3 in the order) were unable to make much of an impact in the chase, with Kohli’s dismissal for 1 reducing RCB to 3-4 in the third over.

Bangalore were eventually bowled out for 109 after 17 overs, falling 23 runs short of Rahul’s score and 97 runs away from the Kings XI total of 3-206.

Rahul’s explosion late in the innings was the highlight of the match; the right-hander went 6, 4, 6, 6, 4 against South African legend Dale Steyn and then 4, 6, 6 against Indian pacer Shivam Dube.

It came after Kings XI lost big hitters Nicholas Pooran (17 off 18) and Glenn Maxwell (five off six), meaning Rahul had to take most of the responsibility of lifting his side above the 200 mark.

His unbeaten 132 is the fourth highest score in the history of the IPL, behind Chris Gayle’s 175no in 2013, Brendon McCullum’s 158no in 2008 and AB de Villiers’ 133no in 2015.

Overall, Kings XI managed 74 from their final four overs as Steyn finished with figures of 0-57 from his four overs, while Indian seamer Umesh Yadav leaked 35 from his three.

"I think I have to stand in front and take the brunt of it," Kohli said of his dropped catches offered by Rahul.

"Not the best day in the office, couple of important chances off KL when he was set.

"That cost us about 35 to 40 runs at the later stage. Maybe if we restricted them to under 180, we wouldn't have been under pressure to go from ball one, chasing close to 210.

"We know exactly where we went wrong, and it's time to put my hand up and say, yeah, couple of important chances went down."

Rubbing salt into the wound, Kohli was slapped with a RS 12 lakh fine (AUD$23,000) after RCB maintained a slow over rate.   

The win moves Kings XI to the top of the standings, one of four sides to have won and lost their opening two games of the tournament.