"Long Live the King...": Chris Gayle re-unites with RCB teammate Virat Kohli, meets MS Dhoni
May 19, 2024
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 19 : West Indies cricket legend Chris Gayle re-united with his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Virat Kohli following the Red and Gold franchise's win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which helped them secure the playoff spot.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) completed their fairytale comeback in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, securing the playoff spot with a 27-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Bengaluru on Saturday.
Gayle took to Instagram to share a picture with Virat, with whom he played for RCB from 2011-2017.
"Long Live The King! Nothing but respect and love @virat.kohli," said Gayle in his Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C7JIlPWRPK7/?hl=en
In 85 matches for RCB, Gayle scored 3,163 runs at an average of 43.33 and a strike rate of over 152, with five centuries and 19 fifties. His best score is 175* with the franchise.
Gayle also caught up with CSK's legendary five-time winning IPL captain MS Dhoni and team's bowling coach, Dwayne Bravo, who was also his teammate in West Indies.
"Was great to catch up with the 2 Champions @mahi7781 & @djbravo47 absolutely love and respect ... #Kings," said Gayle in another post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C7JsihyRUEc/?hl=en&img_index=1
Coming to the match, CSK won the toss and opted to bat first. RCB put on a fine score of 218/5 on the board, with skipper Faf Du Plessis (54 in 39 balls, with three fours and three sixes), Virat Kohli (47 in 29 balls, with three fours and four sixes) putting on a 78-run partnership, setting a fine platform for Rajat Patidar (41 in 23 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Cameron Green (38* in 17 balls, with three fours and three sixes) to put on a 71-run stand for the third wicket.
Cameos from Dinesh Karthik (14 in six balls, with a four and six) and Glenn Maxwell (16 in five balls, with two fours and a six) took RCB to a 200-run plus total.
RCB needed to restrict CSK below 201 runs to qualify for the playoffs and surpass their net-run-rate.
In the run-chase of 219 runs and the task of scoring 201 runs at least to book the top four spot, CSK lost two wickets early and were reduced to 19/2. Rachin Ravindra (61 in 37 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 in 22 balls, with three fours and a six) put up a 66-run stand to bring the side into the game.
RCB sunk CSK to 129/6, but a partnership between Ravindra Jadeja (42* in 22 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and MS Dhoni (25* in 13 balls, with three fours and a six) threatened to take the match away from RCB. However, Yash Dayal defended 11 runs in the final over, restricting CSK to just 191/7 in 20 overs.
RCB is in fourth place with seven wins and seven losses, with 14 points. CSK is in the fifth spot with seven wins and seven losses, but they have slid down to fifth due to a lower net-run rate.
