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Big-hitting Gayle blows Chennai away in IPL

Big-hitting Gayle blows Channai away in IPL

A trademark whirlwind knock from Chris Gayle has helped Kings XI Punjab win a thriller against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The big-hitting West Indies great set the platform for a nail-biting four-run win with a swashbuckling 63 runs off just 33 balls in his first match for the franchise.

Gayle smashed four sixes and seven fours in his brutal knock that laid the platform for the win.

The 38-year-old took particular liking to the bowling of Deepak Chahar - smashing the Chennai bowler for 20 runs in an over that included two sixes and a pair of fours.

The in-form KL Rahul weighed in with 37 runs to help set a daunting total of 7/197 that proved just enough despite the heroics of veteran Ms Dhoni.

The Super Kings captain hit an unbeaten 79 from 44 balls but Chennai fell narrowly short of their 198-run target, finishing up on 193-5 in Chandigarh.

Kings XI were given a flying start thanks to openers Rahul and Gayle, the pair putting on 96 in eight overs after Chennai had put them into bat.

Rahul followed up knocks of 51 and 47 in the first two games with 37 from 22 balls, though he played second fiddle as Gayle tore into the bowlers before falling in tame fashion, steering a simple catch to short fine leg off Shane Watson's bowling.

Yuvraj Singh (20) and Karun Nair (29) made telling contributions in the closing overs as, apart from Aaron Finch - who fell for a second straight golden duck, all of the Kings XI top seven made it into double figures.

Shardul Thakur and Imran Tahir picked up two wickets apiece for Super Kings, who narrowly avoided conceding over 200 runs with the ball for a second successive outing.

With agencies