Bengaluru

After a long wait of 55 minutes for Sunday's game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans to start due to rain, the crowd at M Chinnaswamy Stadium was treated to spectacular one-man show from Virat Kohli, who coasted to his second consecutive century through an unbeaten 61-ball 101.

Kohli's efforts of carrying his bat through the innings with 13 fours and a six at a strike-rate of 165.57 meant Bangalore posted a competitive 197/5, giving hopes to their die-hard fans in the stadium about reaching the playoffs and keeping the quest for the elusive trophy alive.

But Shubman Gill, the heir apparent of Kohli in the Indian batting line-up, sizzled with an unbeaten 104 off 52 balls, also his second straight IPL century, laced with hitting five fours and eight sixes at a strike-rate of 200 to break countless Bangalore-supporting hearts in the stadium and steal Kohli's thunder.

He also shared a crucial 123-run partnership off 71 balls for the second wicket with Vijay Shankar, who scored a quick 53, to help Gujarat chase down 198 with five balls to spare, in what felt like passing of the Indian batting baton from one generation to another.

The result means that Bangalore crashed out of the race to the playoffs, with five-time champions Mumbai Indians sealing the last remaining spot in the last four stage and will face Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator on May 24 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Chasing 198, Wriddhiman Saha and Gill hit two fours each in the first three overs, before the former fell in the third over off Mohammed Siraj when Wayne Parnell at cover jumped to take the catch with his outstretched left hand for a stunning one-handed take.

Shankar got couple of outside edges off Parnell for fours, followed by lofting a six over long-on as Gujarat ended power-play at 56/1. While Shankar struggled to get his timing against spinners, Gill smacked Vyshak Vijaykumar down the ground for a clean six, followed by a lucky edge going for four and swiping Himanshu Sharma for six over deep mid-wicket.

A change of bat saw Shankar cut Harshal Patel for four, followed by slog-sweeping between long-on and deep mid-wicket off Himanshu for another boundary. Gill ended the 11th over by dancing down the pitch to drive Himanshu through extra cover, followed by getting his fifty in 29 balls.

Gill then tore into Michael Bracewell's off-spin, picking up a delivery on pads over long leg for six and clobbered one over deep mid-wicket for another maximum. Gujarat's luck continued when Shankar got a four off an outside edge against Siraj. He then ramped and lofted Vyshak for two fours, before slogging him for six to get his fifty in 34 balls.

In a bid to get another six, Shankar holed out to deep mid-wicket on the very next ball, followed by Dasun Shanaka holing out in the same region in quick succession. After a no-boundary 17th over, Gill eased pressure with a short-arm pull off Siraj for six, though the pacer bounced back by having David Miller slicing to deep point.

Gill then nailed a pull off Siraj over deep mid-wicket for six to bring the equation to 19 off 12 balls. He again brought out the nonchalant short-arm pull against Harshal for six, before finishing off the chase in style with a maximum over long-on bringing up his second IPL century in as many games.

Earlier, Kohli mesmerised everyone with his magical bottom-handed shots, controlled footwork and usage of wrists to take Bangalore to a big total despite wickets falling around him, and went off the field to a rousing standing ovation from the crowd.

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RCB scored 197 for the loss of five wickets in their allotted 20 overs.