Chris Gayle took the responsibility of getting the big hits even as KL Rahul struggled vs MI early on (AP Photo) Kings XI Punjab opener KL Rahul defended the slow start he had during their eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Mohali on Saturday, saying he took his time and played second fiddle to Chris Gayle. Chasing 177 in their first home game, Kings XI Punjab got off to an under-par start, managing just 37 runs in the powerplay overs. Chris Gayle took the responsibility of getting the big hits even as KL Rahul struggled to put bat to ball. However, after the powerplay, Gayle went on an all out attack but perished in the eighth over for 40. Mayank Agarwal, who walked in at No. 3, made sure the asking rate was under the check by taking the Mumbai Indians bowlers to the cleaners from the word go. Even as Agarwal was tonking the ball around the PCA Stadium, Rahul was happy enough to knock the ball around, rotate the strike and hang around. Only after Agarwal's dismissal, Rahul switched gears. However, towards the end of KXIP's successful chase, Rahul opened his shoulders up and took on even the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga and remained unbeaten on 71. Stressing he wanted to spend time in the middle following two poor performances, Rahul said: "I didn't walk into this game with a lot of runs or time in the ,middle. In both the games (vs RR and KKR), I got out pretty early. It was a conscious effort from my side to spend some time in the middle. "I wasn't hitting the ball well to start off with the but the way Chris (Gayle) and Mayank (Agarwal) batted gave me time in the middle. I knew switching to fifth gear would be easy if I spent a little time in the middle. I had been hitting the ball well in the nets as well so I am happy it came off. "I just wanted to take my time and when Chris is going like that, you just have to keep feeding him the strike and not try to be a hero. I have learnt that with experience.. played for KXIP last year and I had the same role where I had to to bat 20 over. The way Mayank batted also gave me a time." "I'll keep for 7-8 games, you should do it for the rest! "@klrahul11 and @DavidMillerSA12 bonded so well while taking @lionsdenkxip over the line against MI that they've decided to share wicket-keeping duties! By @tanmoym #KXIPvMI Full Interview https://t.co/R5PAjgy00v pic.twitter.com/pgteEAHBm9 March 31, 2019 R Ashwin also defended KXIP's slow start to their chase, saying Rahul and Gayle knew what they were doing out in the middle. "Both of them are experienced campaigners. They have played quite a lot of cricket here. They knew that batting would be easier when the dew sets in here. It was a good start," Ashwin said. Winning moments from Mohali as @lionsdenkxip win their first home game #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/eCig10twgk IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 30, 2019 Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal received the Man of the Match award for his 21-ball 43. Speaking after the win over Mumbai Indians, Agarwal said he has got a lot of confidence after representing India at the highest level. "It's a great feeling to get two points on the board. Very, very important to win the first home game and I hope we can create some momentum now. It is very pleasing. The year I have had has given me a lot of confidence. Playing for India has also given me a lot of confidence, a different outlook. With that outlook when I am playing the IPL, it makes things a lot easier," Agarwal said.<doc-sep>Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Monday. Delhi have made one change from their last game as fast bowler Avesh Khan replaces out-of-form leg-spinner Amit Mishra in the playing XI. For Kings XI, Mujeeb Ur Rahman replaces the injured Chris Gayle. Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed the changes at the toss and said, “The game (super over) went too far that night, but the guys are very excited after winning that game. We are going to bowl first. Looking at the wicket, it looks invariably constant. We had a net here yesterday. It was a good wicket to bat on, and the boys are energetic. Avesh Khan comes in for Amit Mishra. Rabada being the leader of the attack, and bowling that super over was fantastic. Sandeep Lamichhane was amazing last time, bowling two powerplay overs for us as well.” King XI Punjab captain R Ashwin said, “It’s about getting used to a particular ground, like the wind direction etc. If you’ve played in a venue before you know that the small things matter big. We have punched well as a unit, and I’m pretty pleased with how it is going at the moment. If you go at 10 an over in the slog (last 4 overs), you would take it any day as a captain.” Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Colin Ingram, Hanuma Vihari, Harshal Patel, Chris Morris, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan<doc-sep>On Saturday, playing against Mumbai Indians at Mohali, Chris Gayle created another mountainous record of hitting 300 sixes in the tournament. Currently, the ‘Universe Boss’ is at the top of the list for ‘Most Sixes in IPL’ (302 sixes), with AB de Villiers at the second spot with 193 sixes, a massive difference of 109 sixes between the two. Gayle achieved this feat in the 3rd over of Kings XI Punjab’s inning. He hit McClenaghan for 2 back to back sixes on the 2nd and 3rd ball of the over. Gayle played a brilliant knock of 40 runs in 24 balls hitting 3 fours and 4 sixes. The Windies batsman reached this milestone in 114 innings, playing a total of 2719 balls. He completed his 200 sixes in the tournament in 2015. It would be really difficult for any other batsman to break this record as everyone is way behind in the list. Here is the list of top 6 players with most sixes in IPL: Chris Gayle: 302 AB de Villiers: 193 MS Dhoni: 187 Suresh Raina: 186 Rohit Sharma: 185 Virat Kohli: 177 Earlier, Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bowl first. In their quota of 20 overs, Mumbai Indians put up a total of 176 runs on board. Thanks to some superb batting performance by Gayle, KL Rahul, and Mayank Agarwal, Kings XI Punjab comfortably chased down the target in the 19th over with 8 wickets remaining.<doc-sep>West Indies and Kings XI Punjab batsman Chris Gayle on Tuesday became the first player to smash 300 sixes in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Gayle reached the mark when he smashed two back-to-back sixes of Mumbai Indians' Mitchell McClenaghan at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. The 39-year-old hit his first six in the competition when playing for Kolkata Knight Riders against Deccan Chargers in the 2009 season. He also played in the Royal Challengers Bangalore setup between 2011 and 2017 during which he amassed 239 maximums. Most sixes in IPL<doc-sep>
All eyes will once again be on opener Chris Gayle when Kings XI Punjab host Delhi Capitals in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Monday. Windies veteran Gayle has seemed in good nick in the opening stages of the tournament and has starts in all three matches. Gayle played a pivotal role in KXIP’s victory in their opener where he slammed a majestic 79 against Rajasthan Royals. In the next two matches, Gayle provided good starts to his team and returned with scores of 20 and 40 against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab respectively. The southpaw is primed for yet another good innings when high-flying DC come to Mohali looking end their miserable record of just one win in six outings. Gayle will have to be on the lookout against DC all-rounder Chris Morris who has managed to create problems for the southpaw in the past. So far, Morris has bowled 34 deliveries to Gayle and the Windies hard-hitter has managed to hit just 40 runs off him. But more importantly, Morris has gotten rid of Gayle three times in the IPL before. Although Axar Patel also holds a good record against Gayle but he has proved to be expensive before. Off 22 Axar deliveries, Gayle has slammed 56 runs and he has been dismissed twice. So, expect either of the two to open the bowling attack for DC in order to keep the Windies star quiet. As for Gayle, he will look to continue his good form in the tournament where he recently became the first cricketer to score 300 IPL sixes. The second on the list is Royal Challengers Bangalore who has hit 192 sixes till date in the cash-rich league.