IPL 2020: Chris Gayle fined for flinging bat after being dismissed for 99

IPL 2020 | KXIP vs RR: Hits and Flops as Samson- Stokes keep Royals’ hopes of Playoffs alive

Rajasthan Royals dished out yet another brilliant performance to beat Kings Xi Punjab by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare to keep their hopes of making to the Playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2020 alive. As in the last match, this time around too, Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes were the chief architects of the victory in Abu Dhabi. For Kings, Chris Gayle’s 99 was the sole positive from the game as neither the bowlers nor any other batsman came close to his performance. On that note, let’s have a look at the Hits and Flops from the last concluded game. Hits #1 Ben Stokes Stokes has been on a different plane altogether since the last game in which he scored a century. In this game, he not only scored a scintillating fifty with the bat but also took two crucial wickets, making a complete package of all-round performance. Even at the start of the Punjab innings, it was courtesy of the brilliant catch from Stokes that Jofra Archer took out Mandeep Singh with a nasty bouncer. The Englishman had match figures of 2/32 in the bowling before scoring a much needed 50 off 26 balls to give his team the momentum, which was carried forward by the rest of the batsmen. #2 Chris Gayle Gayle has come as a breath of fresh air for the Kings XI Punjab as after his inclusion in the team, the Punjabis tested five wins in a row. In this match, on a sticky wicket, Gayle raised his hands and showed why is he still the Universe Boss when it comes to the shortest format of the game. The Jamaican scored 99 runs in 66 balls to give KXIP a total of 185 runs, which looked defendable. In his knock, the West Indies batsman hit six fours and eight sixes. Although he failed to score the hundred Gayle said that in his mind he had scored a hundred. He did get two chances as well as Tewatia and Riyan Parag dropped two catches off him, the Parag drop was quite early in the innings. #3 Sanju Samson Samson brought his A-game to the fore as and when was required by the team. After scoring a fifty against the Mumbai Indians, he scored yet another belligerent innings of 48 runs from 25 balls and carried on the momentum from Stokes, thereby not letting the pressure build upon the batsmen to come after him. This knock of his at a strike rate of more than 190 was enriched four classy fours and three huge sixes. The Royals would be hoping that he carries on the form in the last league game as well. Flops #1 KL Rahul The King's skipper was a tad bit low and slow while batting as he played 41 balls, but could only score 46 runs off them. On the other end, his partner Gayle was playing quite freely. Agreed that the wicket was sticky and gripping as well, but one cannot play 41 deliveries and then score only 46 runs in a must-win game. #2 Mohammed Shami Though the skipper Rahul did not put any blame upon his bowlers and only said that dew was the problem, as a strike bowler, it was Shami’s responsibility to give early jolts to the opposition. He not only failed at that but also let Stokes play freely. The fact that he did not try any bouncer in the initial overs, neither did he bowl close to the body or the yorker was baffling as well. With this win, the Royals would be pumped up to get to the final game of their league stage against KKR and try and win that to secure 14 points, which might just give them the entry into the Playoffs, thanks to their better run rate. Kings on the other hand would face Chennai Super Kings, who have had two wins in their last two games and will be looking to spoil the party for another team as well.

IPL 2020 | RR vs KXIP: Rajasthan alive and kicking courtesy Stokes, Samson

Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, some rotten luck and a lot of dew cast a shadow on Kings XI Punjab's fairytale as Rajasthan Royals brave-hearted a 186-run chase in the 50th clash of the Indian Premier League. Chris Gayle's six-studded 99 didn't bear fruit as KXIP now rest at the mercy of fellow contenders, their five-match winning streak now vanquished. Given the NRR dynamic, tonight's victory will keep RR in fine fettle for a berth in the eliminators.

IPL: Chris Gayle hits 1,000 T20 sixes, marches miles ahead of the rest

Chris Gayle is arguably the best batsmen to have ever played in the T20 format and he added yet another feather to his cap by hitting 1,000 sixes in the T20 formats across international and franchise cricket. He has now become the world's first batsman to achieve the milestone and has an unmatched lead over other prolific six hitters in world cricket. He is followed by Kieron Pollard who has 690 sixes to his name and Brendon McCullum with 485 sixes. He also possesses the record for the leading run-scorer in the format, having amassed 13,572 runs, out of which 10,170 runs have come only through sixes and fours. He is miles ahead of other batsmen on the list of leading run-scorers such as Kieron Pollard who has 10,425 runs to his name, followed by Shoaib Malik with 10,145 runs and Brendon McCullum with 9,922 runs. Gayle achieved the feat in tonight’s match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals where he was at his absolute best and batted with full authority to take the Kings XI Punjab to a fighting total. Gayle finished after a searing yorker finished his inning one short of a spectacular century. Albeit Gayle achieved a truly remarkable feat of 1,000 sixes but he was denied the chance to set another record of being the oldest player to score a T20 century. He was threatening to beat Paul Collingwood's record of scoring a century in the cricket’s shortest format at the age of 41 years, 65 days. He showed his emotions after getting dismissed on 99 by Archer and threw his bat away. However, he was not violating the spirit of the game and shook hands with Archer to calm the nerves on the field.

IPL 2020 | RCB vs SRH: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

As the tournament is coming near to its climax, the road to the playoffs is getting more interesting and exciting. The next game in the league between the two Deccan rivals will be an ultimate clash as both the teams would be looking to enter the playoffs. While Sunrisers would be looking to gain another two points to boost their chances of qualifying, RCB would be looking to straightway enter the Playoffs with a win. SRH’s balance looking solid The Hyderabad team for the first time looked balance as they played both David Warner and Kane Williamson in one game and at the same time had an all-rounder in Jason Holder as well. Along with this, they preferred to play an extra spinner with Rashid Khan in the form of Shahbaz Nadeem. With Wridhiman Saha opening the innings, the scope playing Vijay Shankar and Holder down the order as specialist finishers also make the team look dangerous in the death. Worrying signs for RCB as it starts looking like the old self The Royal Challengers Bangalore have started to falter at the business end of the tournament, giving signs that it is getting back to its much-known version of choking at the important phases. In the last two games, it lost to Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians by huge margins. The team hasn’t found the solution of how to beat in the death if either de Villiers or Kohli get out and neither do they have a solution on how to bowl in the death if two set batsmen are batting. In Washington Sunder and Yuzvendra Chahal, they have two very good spinners no doubt, but they are rendered useless if the fast bowlers don’t capitalize on the players built by their economical spells. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Details Match Number- 52 Date: 30th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local, 2.00 PM GMT Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Broadcast: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitches all across the UAE have behaved in identical ways but in two phases. While in the first phase it was about high scores in the first innings and then the chasing team being unable to cross that in most cases. In the second phase, it has been about low scores in the first innings with dry pitches helping spinners and the dew helping the chasing team to cap off a win. Weather and Toss The weather in Sharjah would be good for cricket as humidity will be low and dew would be high, helping the chasing team. Also, the fact that the ground is too small, dew really becomes a huge factor. In such a scenario, the team winning the toss would look to bowl first. Team News Royal Challengers Bangalore The team is in dire need of changes. There is no clue as to why a winning combination in which Isuru Udana played the role of good fast bowlers and a lower-order hitter. Instead of playing him, the idea to play Moeen Ali or Dale Steyn could still not be fathomed by many. So the changes that can be seen in the next game are Udana coming into the team in place of Steyn. Expected XI Josh Philippe, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Sunrisers Hyderabad The Hyderabadis look all settled finally and hence disturbing that combination would not be considered ideal. Left-arm spinner and leg spinner are the way to go against the likes of de Villiers and Kohli. Expected XI David Warner (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Dream 11 and team suggestions David Warner (c), Devdutt Padikkal (vc), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Isuru Udana Captain: David Warner Vice-captain: Devdutt Padikkal