Finally, Kings XI Punjab managed to score a win after a long time. They got a massive win against Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 wickets, just about a while ago in Sharjah. It was KL Rahul (61*), Chris Gayle (53) and Mayank Agarwal (45), who gave this stunning victory to their team. For RCB, Virat Kohli (48) has done a good job while the others failed to live up to the expectations.
After winning the toss, Virat Kohli elected to bat. Openers Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal gave a good start but the latter fell in the fifth over. Within a couple of overs, even Finch got dismissed. With the help of Washington Sunder and Shivam Dube, Virat Kohli settled the innings. When they were trying to flex their arms in the death overs, Punjab bowlers came back strong and scalped wickets at regular intervals. However, RCB managed to score 24 runs in the last over and ended its batting by scoring 171/6.
Punjab batsmen came with a clear mindset while chasing this total. Once again, they got a stunning start from their opening batsmen KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. They made a 78 runs partnership in eight overs. That’s when Chahal dismissed in-form Mayank. Then came Universe Boss Chris Gayle, who was playing his first match of the season. He played slowly and gave good support to Rahul. In the process, the duo has completed their respective half-centuries as well. When they needed one run, Gayle got run out. After that, Punjab needed one run off one ball. Nicholas Pooran came into the crease, hit a six and sealed the game for them.
Scorecard:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 171/6 (V Kohli 48, C Morris 25*, M Ashwin 2/23)
Kings XI Punjab: 177/2 (KL Rahul 61*, C Gayle 53, Y Chahal 1/35)