Match 31 at Sharjah came as a surprise. Royal Challengers Bangalore, who were in terrific form clashed with one of the poor performers of this season Kings XI Punjab, lost by eight wickets. KXIP have won just two matches this season and both have been against RCB. Let’s look at some of the talking points of the match.
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Shaky RCB startDespite having continuous wins and having played the previous match at Sharjah, RCB couldn't get the start they wanted. Almost all batsmen had little contribution with the willow except the skipper Virat Kohli who managed to get 48 runs with not-so-smashing boundaries. Murugan Ashwin, Chirs Jordan, and Glenn Maxwell were quite economical with the ball and together all the bowlers kept scalping regular wickets.
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Power-Packed KXIP openersKL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal yet again managed to get the momentum that the team needed, which, fortunately, managed to get them the much-needed win. Together they struck a 78-run partnership at the end of the eighth over. Unlike the RCB openers, they were smashing the big shots and Rahul managed to complete his half-century, yet again.
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Gayle StormThe inclusion of Chris Gayle in the playing squad altered the luck pattern for KXIP. The Windies batsman scored 53 runs off 45 balls, hitting five sixes and one four and departed following a run out on the second last ball of the twentieth over. His 93-run partnership with KL Rahul brought the match quite close where one run was required on the last ball. Nicholas Pooran, another smasher of the ball, hit the last ball for a six and attracted the glory for KXIP.
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