Chris Gayle And KL Rahul Had Joined Hands To Stitch A Match-Winning Partnership:
Kings XI Punjab defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets to record their second victory this season during the 31st match of the current 13th season of the Indian Premier League between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah.
Kings XI thrived on the back of a 78-run opening partnership between Captain KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal (45), chasing a 172-run target. With their batting doing well most times this season, they were further helped by the inclusion of seasoned batsman Chris Gayle.
Kings XI, having scored 56 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket, went on to score 84/1 despite losing Agarwal at the halfway stage. In direct proximity to the needed run rate, Gayle initially did not hamper their chances by taking his time.
In the second half of the innings, what also worked for Kings XI was Rahul assuming the attacking role. The right-hand batsman hit a pair of gigantic sixes off Royal Challengers pacer Mohammed Siraj to up the ante in the 12th over.
The 41-year-old had given hints of finding his mojo, with Gayle also joining the party in the next over via two sixes off Bangalore’s all-rounder Washington Sundar.
KXIP was undisturbed, despite a few economic overs from Chris Morris and Navdeep Saini, as the pair accumulated 20 runs off the next one. However, by taking the chase to the last ball despite needing seven runs in the last two overs, Punjab ended up giving signs of choking again.
Eventually, it was Nicholas Pooran, the Punjab batsman, who struck a last-ball six to seal the chase. While Rahul, with the help of one four and five sixes, remained unbeaten on 61 * (49), Gayle played extremely well for his 53 (45), including a four and five sixes.
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