
Mumbai, April 10: Universe Boss Chris Gayle lighted up the Wankhede Stadium with his blitz as Mumbai Indians invited Kings XI Punjab to bat first in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 encounter here on Wednesday (April 10). And later KL Rahul smashed his maiden IPL ton as he propelled Kings to 197/4 in 20 overs.
Rahul remained unbeaten at 100 off 64 balls and hit six maximums and as many boundaries in his knock. The Karnataka batsman has already slammed a couple of tons in the T20 International but an IPL century had eluded him so far. But the talented batsman made most of the good start and converted it into a memorable knock.
Wankhede Stadium might have been the home ground of hosts Mumbai Indians but once Rahul entered in the 90s, the crowd started chanting 'Rahul-Rahul' to encourage the right-handed batsman to complete his ton.
Earlier, opening the innings for KXIP, Gayle along with his partner KL Rahul gave his team a blistering start as the duo added 116 runs between them and targetted almost every Mumbai Indians bowler.
If West Indian Gayle was at his powerful best, India's Rahul was all about touch and class. The duo started the proceedings on a quieter note as Kings had only added 20 runs from the first 4 overs. Then came the over number 5 in which Gayle hammered Jason Behrendorff for 23. Later, Rahul too joined the party and played some exquisite shots in his innings.
The Jamaican swashbuckler struck quickfire fifty before getting dismissed for 63 off 36 deliveries. Gayle entertained the audiences with his 7 powerful sixes and three boundaries.
Here's how cricketing fraternity and fans reacted to KL Rahul and Chris Gayle show: