IPL 2018, KXIP vs CSK : 3 things you might have missed

Yet an another last over thriller from the men in yellow but failing to be on the winning side for the first time despite a fighting half-century from Dhoni who fought a lone battle until the end.

Gayle led Kings XI posted a challenging 197 runs on the board which looked just par given the start they had but proved to be enough to defend it. Dhoni gave them a real scare until the final ball keeping both dugouts at the edge of their seats till the finish but with the absence of their key player Raina, it was always going to be a challenge. This match also saw the return of Chris Gayle who sat out for few games smashing a 22 ball half-century for his side.

Sportskeeda takes a look at the three unnoticed things from the match which had a considerable impact on the end result.

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#1 Calm before the storm

Chris Gayle announced himself in this edition of IPL with a blistering half-century off just 22 balls smashing seven boundaries and four sixes. Despite a slow start to the innings playing out 6 dots in his first 10 balls, he unleashed the big hits at the right time for Kings XI to give them a good start and post a competitive total on the board.

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal gave good support at the other end stringing decent partnerships with Chris Gayle. Overall, he smashed 66 runs off just 33 deliveries at the strike rate of over 190 earning him a man of the match award. The Universe boss arrived in style!

#2 Idle in the field

CSK bowlers didn’t have a good day in the field and gave away 197 runs in 20 overs which were proved too much for them in the end. Ravindra Jadeja always trusted with the bowling by Dhoni when he had issues controlling the run rate, but strangely not trusted with a single over today.

It could be seen as a tactical error from Dhoni when fast bowlers were dispatched to all parts of the ground. Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh were decent with the ball combining to pick three wickets at a better economy comfortably outbowling the pacers. Shane Watson looked pick of the pacers but bowled only 2 overs despite scalping the wicket of Chris Gayle.

#3 Mayank and Rahul overshadowing Gayle

The batsman in the opposite end virtually becomes a spectator when Gayle is smashing the bowling at the other end but that’s not been the case today. Lokesh Rahul who opened with him followed by Mayank Agarwal were equally aggressive compared to Gayle and gave nightmares on the field to opposition skipper Dhoni. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal scored 37 runs and 30 runs respectively at over a strike rate of 150 and helped King XI reaching a competitive total which was enough to secure them a win despite a late onslaught from Dhoni

CSK produced three thrillers in three games, and so did Mumbai Indians, 2018 IPL is already a blockbuster one.

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