Supporters no doubt arrived to this fixture hoping for fireworks from a free-scoring left-hander. They got their wish, although probably not via the anticipated route.
Not long before it, Chris Gayle had scored a ridiculous 175 for Bangalore against Pune Warriors. He had been relatively run-shy since then, so he was due. And he did find form again, hitting 61 as the Royal Challengers Bangalore amassed 190 for three from their 20 overs.
That effort – as well as his preceding ton, according to some pundits – was totally eclipsed, however, by a player of half Gayle’s size and perhaps a 10th of his celebrity.
David Miller razed an all-international bowling attack of Ravi Rampaul, RP Singh, Vinay Kumar, Murali Kartik and Moises Henriques with a 38-ball century.
His effort drove a chase which brought 99 runs in five overs to finish, as the Kings XI completed the win with 12 balls to spare. To underline the point, Miller sent Gayle the distance in an over that went for 22. The left-hander admitted later he rode his luck, not least when Virat Kohli dropped a skier off him which burst through his hands and hit him in the face. His captain, David Hussey, reckoned the effort had revived their side’s flagging play-off hopes.
The South African was relatively little known beyond his homeland before then. All of a sudden he was a hot property.
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