HYDERABAD, India, CMC – Superstar opener Chris Gayle failed for the first time this season as his Kings XI Punjab slumped to a 13-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderbad to miss out on the chance to take sole possession of the lead in the Indian Premier League here Thursday.
Asked to chase a modest 133 for victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Kings XI collapsed to a disappointing 119 all out, with four balls left in the contest.
Lokesh Rahul top-scored with 32, posting 55 for the first wicket with the left-handed Gayle who made 23.
The right-handed Rahul faced 26 balls and struck four fours and a six while Gayle belted a four and a couple of sixes in his 22-ball knock.
They seemed to be setting the stage for an uncomplicated run chase when both perished in successive overs. Rahul missed a defensive prod at a Rashid Khan leg-break and was bowled while Gayle top-edged a quick bouncer from Basil Thamp and went caught and bowled.
In his three previous innings, Gayle had scored 63, 104 and 62.
Even after their departures, Kings XI were still well poised at 77 for two but lost their last eight wickets for 42 runs.
Rashid Khan was the best bowler with three for 19.
Earlier, seamer Ankit Rajpoot snatched five for 14 as Sunrisers were held to 132 for six off their 20 overs, after being sent in.
Manish Pandey top-scored with 54 while Bangladesh’s Shakib-al-Hasan struck 28, the pair adding 52 for the fourth wicket to pull Sunrisers out of trouble at 27 for three in the fifth over.
With the victory, Sunrisers joined Kings XI and Chennai Super Kings at the top on 10 points, with Chennai holding the lead by virtue of a superior net run rate.
