IPL 2020: Twitter explodes as KXIP move to 4th place after Chris Gayle brushes aside KKR
The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) notched up their 5th win on the trot in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) as they breezed past the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 8 wickets.
After being put in to bat, KKR got off to yet another nightmare start. Nitish Rana walked back after just one ball before Mohammed Shami sent Rahul Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik back to the hut. Despite being in a precarious position, Eoin Morgan and Shubman Gill counterattacked superbly to put KXIP on the backfoot almost immediately.
Leggie Ravi Bishnoi had Morgan caught on the boundary, and KKR's lower-middle order - Sunil Narine, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Pat Cummins - didn't offer much resistance. Gill was the only KKR batsman to cross fifty as he made 57 off 45 balls to take the team to 149/9.
In response, KXIP didn't get off to a flying start. KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh were tied down in the powerplay, and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy celebrated his maiden India call-up with the wicket of the KXIP skipper. But KXIP weren't left to rue Rahul's dismissal.
Chris Gayle lit up Sharjah once again, hitting 5 sixes and 2 fours en route to 51 off just 29 balls. The West Indian supported Mandeep Singh ably, and the Punjab batsman registered his first fifty of IPL 2020, albeit at a more sedate pace. Gayle was dismissed with a few runs to get, but Mandeep stayed at the crease till the end to take KXIP over the line.
With the win, KXIP moved to the fourth position in the IPL 2020 points table. KL Rahul's side are level on points with KKR, but clinched the spot by virtue of a better net run rate.
Twitter had a lot to say, and here are the best reactions from the KKR vs KXIP IPL 2020 game.
Twitter reacts to IPL 2020, KKR vs KXIP