Rajasthan Roya's shadow Gayle’s shine

Rajasthan Roya's shadow Gayle’s shine

FPJ News ServiceUpdated: Saturday, October 31, 2020, 12:13 AM IST
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Chris Gayle | Twitter

Dubai

Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets in a crucial IPL match here on Friday.

Set to score 186 for victory Royals were home in the 18th over (17.3) with seven wickets intact.

Royals stay alive. Kings XI have had their streak ended. Both still in with a chance but KXIP will be deflated. They are still No. 4 on the table, but now they will know they can't finish in the top two. Now it is certain that at least one out of RCB and DC will finish in the top two.

Chris Gayle continued his menacing form, smashing a 63-ball 99 to steer Kings XI Punjab to 185 for 4 , earlier in the day.

Gayle and captain KL Rahul (46) took the RR bowlers to the cleaners, stitching 120 runs for the second wicket in 13.4 overs to help KXIP post a challenging total after being put in to bat.

Nicholas Pooran played a late cameo of 22 off just 10 deliveries with the help of three sixes.

Gayle, who had four boundaries and eight sixes in his explosive innings, was out just two balls before the end of the innings and he showed his disappointment of missing out on a hundred by throwing down his bat.

During his knock, Gayle took his tally of sixes to 1001 in his glittering T20 career.

KXIP lost their first wicket in the opening over itself when Mandeep Singh got dismissed for a first-ball duck with Ben Stokes taking a brilliant diving catch off an equally superb delivery by Archer.

But Gayle and Rahul maintained a high scoring rate, reaching 53 for 1 at the end of powerplay. The self-styled 'Universe Boss' smacked two fours and six in consecutive deliveries off pacer Kartik Tyagi.

Gayle reached his third fifty in six matches in this IPL in style, hitting a six off Rahul Tewati in the 11th over as KXIP cruised along to reach the 100-run mark in the 13th over.

Stokes finally got the breakthrough by getting rid of tournament's top run-getter Rahul in the 15th over to put brakes on KXIP innings.

Rahul, who was playing second fiddle to Gayle, could not clear the ropes as Tewatia took the catch near the boundary.

Gayle first to hit 1,000 sixes

Chris Gayle on Friday became the first batsman to get to 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket history when he smashed the seventh of his eight sixes during his belligerent 99 against Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match here. "Oh 1,000 sixes! I do not know the record (of 1,000 sixes). Still have to be hitting it well at the age of 41. Got to give thanks for that," said Gayle when told about his milestone. Gayle, 41, is way ahead of his nearest competitor, fellow West Indian and a Mumbai Indians' player Kieron Pollard, who has hit 690 sixes in T20 format and is 311 adrift of Gayle's 1,001.

Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul c Tewatia b Stokes..........46 (41)

M Singh c Stokes b Archer.................0 (1)

C Gayle b Archer.............................99 (63)

N Pooran c Tewatia b Stokes.........22 (10)

G Maxwell not out................................6 (6)

D Hooda not out..................................1 (1)

Extras: (lb-1, nb-2, w-8)..........................11

TOTAL: (20 overs).............................185-4

FoW: 1-1, 2-121, 3-162, 4-184

BOWLING: J Archer 4-0-26-2, V Aaron 4-0-47-0, K Tyagi 4-0-47-0, S Gopal 1-0-10-0, B Stokes 4-0-32-2, R Tewatia 3-0-22-0,

Rajasthan Royals

R Uthappa c Pooran b Ashwin...30 (23)

B Stokes c Hooda b Jordan.......50 (26)

S Samson run out.......................48 (25)

S Smith not out............................31 (20)

J Buttler not out............................22 (11)

Extras: (lb-2, w-3).................................5

TOTAL: (17.3 overs).....................186-3

FoW: 1-60, 2-111, 3-145

BOWLING: A Singh 3-0-34-0, M Shami 3-0-36-0, M Ashwin 4-0-43-1, C Jordan 3.3-0-44-1, R Bishnoi 4-0-27-0

Team Pld w L Pts

mi 12 8 4 16

rcb 12 7 5 14

DC 12 7 5 14

KXIP 13 6 7 12

RR 13 6 7 12

KKR 13 6 7 12

SRH 12 5 7 10

CSK 13 5 8 10

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