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The explosive West Indies hitter came in at number three to establish a key 93-run partnership with captain KL Rahul, who was unbeaten at 61, while Punjab chased down 172 to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore for eight plots in Sharjah.
The match saw late-night drama with Punjab needing two for victory, scoring just one run, and losing Gayle with a run on the fifth ball before Nicholas Pooran connected all six winners with Yuzvendra Chahal’s last ball.
Gayle, the 41-year-old self-proclaimed ‘Boss of the Universe’ who recently recovered from a stomach bug, broke five sixes on his 45-ball hit to announce his arrival in the United Arab Emirates.
“It’s the Universe Boss hitting, how can I be nervous?” said the southpaw after the victory. “You could have a heart attack, I thought I had it in the bag, but stranger things have happened in cricket.
“It was a very sticky surface, very slow, but it was better to hit second. The team asked me to do a job at all three and it was not a problem (one less than his usual starting position).”
The fit Rahul consolidated his top spot in the IPL batting chart with 448 runs when the starter scored his fifty quarters – he has also hit one hundred – of the season.
And how! 😍🔥 # SaddaPunjab # IPL2020 #KXIP #UniverseBoss @henrygayle https://t.co/DIgvwhsuE2
– Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) 1602788402000
Rahul put up 78 with opening partner Mayank Agarwal, who made 45 of 25 deliveries before becoming Chahal’s 200th T20 victim.
Punjab, though still languishing at the bottom of the eight-team table with two wins in eight games in the Twenty20 tournament that was moved out of India due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“As a group, we have been disappointing. It can be frustrating. Our skills were good, but we did not take advantage of the great moments,” Rahul said.
“It becomes a habit: to win and not to win. There are ups and downs and this has been a roller coaster. We wanted this win to have some confidence in the group.”
On Gayle’s first appearance after seven games, Rahul said: “He was training hard, he wanted to be in the park. It was a difficult decision to make and not force him to play. It is important to keep the lion hungry. Wherever he hits, he is dangerous. “.
Previous Bangalore captain Virat Kohli made 48 before Chris Morris’s late cameo propelled Bangalore to 171 of six after choosing to hit first.
Mohammed Shami claimed two key wickets, including Kohli and Villiers’ AB fitter, which was down to six in batting order, for two.
But the Indian leader conceded 24 in the final with Morris hitting three sixes to finish the innings high with his 25 unbeaten in eight deliveries.
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