Gill storm washes away RCB hopes

The weather gods who threatened to play spoilsport to their play-off chances showed mercy and their talismanic Virat Kohli conjured another classic but it still wasn’t enough as Royal Challengers Bangalore were undone by the brilliance of Gujarat Titans’ Shubman Gill, crashing out in the league phase of IPL-16 here on Sunday.

Heavy rain, including hailstones, lashed the City on Sunday evening and RCB’s must-win game against defending champions and table-toppers Gujarat appeared in danger off being called off with a steady drizzle lashing the M Chinnaswamy Stadium even until 8 pm. But hope sprang for the hosts when the drizzle stopped and a full game ensued.

Kohli, the man who loves the big occasions, first stole the limelight with a sparkling unbeaten 101 n.o. (61b, 13x4, 1x6) -- his second successive ton. Taking off from where he’d left off against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kohli single-handedly ensured RCB posted a competitive 197/5 following the customary middle-order implosion.

The Royal Challengers, however, needed a disciplined show from their bowlers given how small the boundaries are at Chinnaswamy and teams not finding it difficult to chase scores in the vicinity of 200. They did so in the Powerplay but then were totally taken apart by Gill (104 n.o., 52b, 5x4, 8x6) and Vijay Shankar (53, 35b, 7x4, 2x6), the duo forging a match-winning 123-run second-wicket partnership that dashed their play-off hopes.

With RCB suffering a six-wicket drubbing, record five-time champions Mumbai Indians, who earlier in the day defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in their do-or-die contest, secured their fourth and final play-off spot. While GT take on hosts Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday, MI play Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator the next day at the same venue.

Gill, considered Kohli’s heir apparent in the Indian team, and Vijay, who has rediscovered himself at GT, went about their respective innings in a calm and calculated fashion.

While the in-form Gill, GT’s leading run scorer this season, was the aggressor early on, Shankar took his time at the start before switching gears a little after the halfway stage. They played some risky shots as edges flew between fielders but by and large they looked in control.

As the innings progressed they kept gaining in confidence while RCB’s shoulders started to sink. With every boundary that kept bringing down the run-rate, the tension in RCB in camp started to grow. In fact, even the fans began to feel it as dead silence enveloped the stadium, especially when Shankar smacked the roof with a monstrous six.

Homeboy Vyshak Vijaykumar injected some hope when he dispatched Shankar in the 15th over.

GT even lost a couple of quick wickets that created some artificial tension but a composed Gill played some delectable strokes, each one driving the nail deeper into RCB’s coffin.

He then closed the lid in the final over, sending Wayne Parnell over long-on for a six and bringing his second successive century of this IPL in the process.

He became the fourth player after Shikhar Dhawan, Jos Buttler and Virat Kohli, who did in this game, to accomplish it.