IPL 8: Chris Gayle Dedicates Brutal 56-Ball 96 to His Mother

Chris Gayle had started off his Indian Premier League stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders seven years ago. But after two lackluster years with the two-time champions, the West Indian found himself back on the auction table and Royal Challengers Bangalore were quick to rope him in. On Saturday, in their own den at the Eden Gardens, KKR bore the brunt of Gayle's assault as he slammed 96 off 56 balls. He fell short of his fifth IPL hundred; all four tons have come for the Royal Challengers. Thanks to Gayle's phenomenal hitting, RCB won by three wickets. (Scorecard | Highlights)

The former West Indian captain was named Man-of-the-Match for his efforts after Bangalore won by three wickets. He dedicated the knock to his mother. "I want to say 'Happy Birthday' to Mum. I hope she's watching and that (innings) was for you."

Bangalore were in serious trouble in their chase of 178. They lost Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, AB de Villiers and Darren Sammy at critical junctures. Gayle, who had nursed an injured back for most of the World Cup, but had still clobbered 215 against Zimbabwe, took charge and smashed the bowlers to shreds. Sixes were hit to all corners of the massive Eden Gardens as a normally astute Gautam Gambhir ran out of ideas.

Gayle was watchful to start with and preferred to see the early disciplined spells from Morne Morkel and Sunil Narine. But once the Jamaican settled in, there was no stopping the rampage on the field. Kohli and De Villiers' dismissals would have depressed the RCB camp, but Gayle's constant attack soon lifted their mood.

Gayle had smashed 175 two years ago against Pune Warriors and there was a phase when his form had taken a sudden dip. Questions were raised after his indifferent form in West Indies' failed campaign at the World Cup. Despite that double hundred, the first ever in World Cups, Gayle struggled against the better teams and was painfully sluggish against India. But the left-handed marauder had made clear he was not retiring from any format.

The 35-year-old was unfortunate to be run out four short of what could have been a well-deserved ton. But RCB were then only seven shy of victory and despite a few nervous moments, Kohli's side got home much to the dug-out's relief.