Picture : Twitter / IPL
The bottom placed Kings XI Punjab finally ended their losing streak as they nearly made a mess of the chase against the RCB winning off the last ball while chasing target of 172 at Sharjah . The Kings won by 8 wickets but not before making the team member’s at the dugout nervous.
After RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat one expected the team to come out with all guns blazing. Openers Aaron Finch ( 20) once again did not carry on. So too did fellow opener Devdutt Padikkal (18). Skipper Virat Kohli in fine form showed the intent and scored ( 48). RCB team management made a blunder holding back A B De Villiers. Washington Sundar 13 off 14 balls and Shivam Dube (23) off 19 balls wasted many balls and did not fire as expected. De Villiers pushed down the order failed and was out for ( 2). Thanks to the cameo by Chris Morris 25 off 8 balls towards the end that the RCB managed to reach target of 171 / 6 in their twenty overs. They were at least 15-20 runs short given the targets they had put up in their earlier matches.
For the Kings the successful bowlers were Murugan Ashwin took 2/ 23 ( 4 overs) , Mohammed Shami 2/ 45 ( 4 overs), Arshdeep Singh 1/ 20 ( 2 overs), Chris Jordan 1/ 20 ( 3 overs)
In reply , Kings XI boosted by the return of Universe Boss Chris Gayle began on a confident note with their in-form openers skipper K L Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. The duo put on 78 runs in quick time . Agarwal fell for a well made 45 off 25 balls with 4 fours and three sixes . K L Rahul was in smashing form and remained unbeaten with a fine 61 off 49 balls studded with 1 fours and five sixes.
The ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle showed why he is such a massive entertainer and big impact player in this format . Playing his first competitive match since January, Gayle after a watchful start opened up and scored a fine 53 off 45 balls studded with 5 sixes and one four. Gayle was run-out in the dramatic last over. The Kings nearly made a mess of the chase and their win came off the last ball bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal. Nicholas Pooran finishing off the match with a last ball six. The Kings finishing at 177/ 2 in their twenty overs.
For RCB, they need to look at their bowling which appears to be inconsistent. Chris Morris 0/22 ( 4 overs), Navdeep Saini 0/ 21 ( 4 overs), Yuzvendra Chahal 1/ 35 ( 3 overs) , Mohammed Siraj 0 / 44 ( 3 overs) , Washington Sundar 0/ 38 ( 4 overs)
A look at the Points Table after Match 31 of #Dream11IPL. pic.twitter.com/z9hL7mK8y9
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 15, 2020
While the Kings got the much needed two points, for RCB this loss off the last ball might come back to haunt them when each points and situation becomes tight ahead in the race for the top four spot.
