Gayle returns with force

Mohali, April 16

A blistering 79-run knock by skipper MS Dhoni went in vain as hosts Kings XI Punjab held their nerve in the death overs to register a four-run win over Chennai Super Kings here on Sunday. Needing to defend 17 runs in the last over, Mohit Sharma used all his experience to stop a rampaging Dhoni, even as the skipper dispatched the last ball for a six, much to the joy of the packed stadium.
Gayle force

Earlier, put in to bat, the hosts scored a challenging 197/7 after Chris Gayle entertained the crowd with a 33-ball 63.
Gayle, playing in his first match for the Kings XI this season, took the attack to the opposition from the word go.
KL Rahul continued his rich vein of form as he drove and cut with relative ease before being caught by Dwayne Bravo in covers off Harbhajan for a 22-ball 37.
The young opener’s innings was, though, completely overshadowed by the belligerent Gayle as he dispatched Deepak Chahar for 22 runs in the sixth over before lofting Imran Tahir straight to long off fence for a boundary to bring up his 50 in 22 balls. Mayank Agarwal, who joined Gayle at the fall of Rahul’s wicket, made his intentions clear with a six and a four off Harbhajan as Kings XI scored 115 runs in the first 10 overs. However, there was a twist in the tale as Tahir removed Agarwal and Aaron Finch in quick succession to reduce hosts to 154/4 at the end of the 15th over. Finch scored his second successive duck of the tournament after being trapped in front. Karun Nair (29) and skipper Ravichandran Ashwin (14) then took the side to 197/7.
CSK rocked early

Chasing an imposing total, CSK lost Shane Watson early.
Murali Vijay, who replaced injured Suresh Raina, pulled Sran disdainfully over mid-wicket to score CSK’s first six of the night, but that was the only bright spot in his innings as he fell to Andrew Tye soon after.
Dhoni’s heroics

With the side requiring 85 runs from six overs, Dhoni, along with Ambati Rayudu, pushed the scoring. He brought up his half-century in 34 balls. The skipper though had a fair share of luck as he was dropped by substitute Mayank Dagar on 38. Dhoni kept his side in the hunt with a 6, 4, 2, 6 off the last four balls of the 19th over.
But the Haryana speedster kept his calm in the last over to help his side to a four-run victory.

Bengaluru: Sanju Samson’s breathtaking strokeplay formed the cornerstone of Rajasthan Royals’ 19-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Sunday. Riding on Samson’s 45-ball 92, Rajasthan Royals posted 217/4 and then managed to restrict the home team to 198/6.
Brief scores: RR: 217/4 (Samson 92*); RCB: 198/6 (Kohli 57; S Gopal 2/22)