Chris Gayle returned from injury in style as the Jamaican swashbuckling opener struck a whirlwind century to help Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kings XI Punjab by 138 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Put in to bat first, Gayle tormented opposition bowlers from the start of his innings, with hitting 20 runs off Mitchell Johnson's first over, the most by any batsman off the Australian pace spearhead's bowling in T20 cricket.

While Gayle continued his batting onslaught at a fiery pace, skipper Virat Kohli made a cautious 32 before his dismissal to put a 119-run stand for the first wicket.

Gayle scored 117 off mere 57 deliveries, including seven fours and 12 sixes, before he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Axar Patel's shrewd delivery.

Dinesh Karthik (8) continued to struggle with his batting as he trudged back to the pavilion after falling prey to Sandeep Sharma's delivery.

Subsequently, AB de Villiers accelerated the innings as he blasted a brisk 47 off 24 balls, which included three fours and four sixes, to propel his side to set a daunting target of 227.

Chasing the target, Kings XI Punjab wilted under pressure against a disciplined bowling performance by RCB.

While Sreenath Aravind wreaked havoc on the middle order batsmen by claiming four wickets, Mitchell Starc provided substantial support by scalping four other batsmen as well, mainly tail-enders.

Moreover, Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal claimed one wicket each to bundle them out on 88 with six overs and two balls remaining.

None of the batsmen were able to score in double digits except Patel (40 not out) and Wriddhiman Saha (13).

- Manohar