Chris Gayle smashed 104 off 63 balls to set up a 15-run victory for the Kings XI Punjab, which handed the Sunrisers Hyderabad their first defeat of the campaign in Chandigarh on Thursday.
The ‘universe boss’ was the star for his side once again. He scored his 21st T20 ton and sixth in the IPL as the Kings XI Punjab posted 193-3 in 20 overs.
The big-hitter smashed 11 sixes and one four at a strike rate of 165.07 as he smoked SRH’s brilliant bowling attack all around the ground.
Heading into the match, the Sunrisers’ bowlers took a total of 25 wickets as a collective, but they could only manage three against the Kings XI, with the usual suspects Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-25), Rashid Kahn (1-55) and Siddarth Kaul (1-33) continuing their wicket-taking form.
Other than Gayle’s dominance, Karun Nair contributed with a handy three fours and a six for his 21-ball 31 but he lost his wicket to Kumar to put the breaks on KXIP who ended seven runs short of the desired 200-run mark.
SRH’s chase was hindered by two scalps from Mohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan retiring hurt after a blow to his left elbow.
Kane Williamson fought hard to bring his side back into the match. The SRH skipper took his side from 2-37 to 113-3, scoring a well-earned 54 off 41 balls when his wicket fell. The game continued to pull away from the Sunrisers.
Manish Pandey scored 57 off 42 balls and Shakib Al Hasan hit a 12-ball 24 but it wasn’t enough as the Sunrisers Hyderabad ended on 178-4
Photo: Sandeep Shetty/IPL/Sportpics
