Kings XI Punjab recorded their second victory in the Indian Premier League 2020 with their last ball win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chris Gayle played his first match of the season and scored a brilliant fifty against his old team.
RCB Batting falters
This was the second consecutive match for RCB at the Sharjah Cricket Ground but their batsmen could not get the advantage of knowing the nature of the pitch. Both their openers got set before getting out cheaply. To utilize AB de Villiers’ brutal hitting at the death over, Washington Sundar came at number four and once he was out for just 13 runs, he was replaced by Shivam Dube. Dube scored a handy 23 but did not stay at the wicket for long.
De Villiers came to bat at the 17th over and could score only two runs before being dismissed by Mohammed Shami. Virat Kohli was also dismissed in the same over for 48 off 39 balls. Chris Morris played a blinder to score a 8-ball 25. Without his contribution KXIP would have even lower target.
KXIP opening clicks again
KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal continued their great run in the IPL 2020 and provided another great start during the chase. They were in the top two positions in the Orange Cap race and strengthen their positions. Agarwal was the early enforcer and scored a brisk 25-ball 45 with four fours and three massive sixes.
They added 78 runs in eight overs before Agarwal was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal. KL Rahul played the anchor’s role perfectly and remined unbeaten on 61 off 49 balls to take his team to an 8-wicket victory.
Gayle arrives… finally
After more than half of the league is done, the Universe Boss Chris Gayle finally made his grand entry for Kings XI Punjab. Interestingly he did not bat in his customary opening position and only came to bat in the 9th over. Like always, he started slowly before hitting two sixes off Washington Sundar in the 13th over.
Post then there was no looking back as Gayle regularly cleared the short boundaries of Sharjah with ease and ended with five sixes in his innings of 53 runs. He was runout on the penultimate ball while going for the winning run but his inclusion has given KXIP a much needed boost and can turn their faltering season for better.
#Dream11IPL #RCBvKXIP
शहनशाह! pic.twitter.com/8BCYrDWN8q— Cricket News (@cricketnews_com) October 15, 2020
Good to see @henrygayle back and scoring a wonderful 53. Wonder what @lionsdenkxip were thinking by leaving him out all this while. #RCBvKXIP #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/OeTPWbC5t3
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 15, 2020