Windies master blaster's sixth IPL century proves too much for Sunrisers Hyderabad
Match Report:
ScorecardGaylestorm ton sinks Sunrisers
The Result: Kings XI Punjab, 3-193 (Gayle 104*, Tye 2-23) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 4-178 (Pandey 57*, Kumar 1-25) at home in Mohali, winning by 15 runs.
The match in a tweet: Sunrisers caught up in freak Gaylestorm as Windies T20 maestro runs rampant with sixth IPL century #KXIPvSRH
How good has @henrygayle been tonight?He brings up his 6th IPL 💯 #UniverseBoss pic.twitter.com/jtVcz1IiZk— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 19, 2018
The Gaylestorm: The signs were there for the visiting side after Chris Gayle's ominous 63-from-33 in his previous match, but that proved merely a precursor; against the Sunrisers' vaunted attack, the Gaylestorm well and truly made landfall. Gayle, who was only picked up by Kings XI in the third round of the auction, showed why at 38 he's still one of the most destructive hitters in the game, clubbing 11 sixes on the expansive IS Bindra Stadium ground en route to an unbeaten 104 from just 63 deliveries. Making his sixth IPL century even more impressive was the calibre of bowlers he struck it against, making a mess of No.1 ranked T20I bowler Rashid Khan's figures (1-55) after carting him for 26 off his third over.
The Consolation Effort: It was an admirable chase from the Sunrisers after losing opener Shikhar Dhawan in the first over to injury, with skipper Kane Williamson (52 off 41) and Manish Pandey (57* off 42) leading the charge for the visitors. However when the Aussie connection of Finch and Tye combined to see off Williamson in the 15th over the task became all the more difficult, before Tye's second wicket two overs later all but snuffed out any hope of a come-from-behind win.
Image Id: B3270F1EAC484C6596510D3A7EB3E60D Image Caption: Tye finished with figures of 2-23 against Sunrisers Hyderabad // BCCI
The Aussie Pack: A good night for Kings XI teammates Aaron Finch and Tye, who both managed to contribute to their side's win despite the show belonging to their West Indian teammate. A six and a four saw Finch add 14 runs off just six deliveries to give the Kings XI total a welcome late boost, while Tye (2-23 from four overs) was at his miserly best to deny Williamson's men any chance of chasing down the home side's first-innings total.
The Next Stop: A quick turnaround for Kings XI Punjab as they travel to Eden Gardens to take on Chris Lynn's table-topping Kolkata Knight Riders Saturday night, while Sunrisers Hyderabad receive an extra day's break before facing Shane Watson's Chennai Super Kings at home.
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