Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers run between the wickets during the match against Kings XI Punjab, on Friday. (AFP)

Mohali: Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers extended their fine form as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in the an IPL-V match, on Friday.

Gayle struck 87 off 56 balls with four sixes and eight fours while De Villiers made 52 off 39 balls with eight fours as Bangalore scored 166-5 in 19.3 overs after having restricted Punjab to 163-6.

Gayle scored 81 and De Villiers made an unbeaten 33 against Pune Warriors in Bangalore’s game on Tuesday, and the pair came to the team’s rescue once again with a decisive 131-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Pace bowler Parvinder Awana had earlier claimed three wickets to reduce Bangalore to 25-3 by the sixth over. He finished with 4-34.

For a brief while, Kings XI Punjab showed some fight. Azhar Mahmood turned a middling total into a seemingly challenging one. Awana jolted Royal Challengers Bangalore with three early strikes. But the visitors had Gayle. And AB de Villiers. A nearly risk-free partnership of 131 at over 10 runs an over followed, shutting Kings XI out totally.

Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder debuting in the IPL as a British citizen, breathed life into a stuttering KXIP innings who had once again been let down by their batsmen. Coming in at No. 7 in the 16th over, Mahmood smashed 33 off 14 deliveries as KXIP posted their highest total of the season.

Despite three of five bowlers used going for around six runs an over, Royal Challengers Bangalore discovered there were still enough weak links in their attack for even a shaky Kings XI line-up to exploit. Harshal Patel disappeared for 44 and Vinay Kumar for 40 as Kings XI took 51 off the final four overs.

Kings XI had sleepwalked to 105 by the 15th over, and the departure of David Hussey off the last ball of that over had further dented their hopes of posting a decent total. Mahmood walked in and completely changed the tempo of the innings. Harshal was thumped over mid-off and midwicket for consecutive boundaries; Vinay was calmly dabbed between the wicketkeeper and wide slip for four.

Mandeep Singh made the 37-year old Mahmood scamper for numerous twos with regular mishits. Mahmood, though, recovered his breath enough to contemptuously swat Vinay for a straight six in the last over.

Royal Challengers had been on top till Mahmood’s arrival. Only Shaun Marsh and Hussey had dominated them in a three-over span. Even that partnership had been terminated before it could cause much damage. After playing some pleasing cover drives, Marsh was bowled for 26 as he tried to late-cut Andrew McDonald.

Marsh’s fall came after Zaheer Khan, enjoying the bounce on the Mohali pitch and bowling with control from both sides of the wicket, had removed the Kings XI openers early. Stand-in captain Hussey, leading in place of the injured Adam Gilchrist, kept the home side going steadily but fell when they were in need of a late boost. It was to come from Mahmood, and gave their medium-pacers some leeway to exploit a favourable pitch.