IPL 2019: Match 4, RR vs KXIP: Player of the Match

In the fourth match of the ongoing 12th edition of Indian Premier League, Kings XI Punjab on Monday, pipped Rajasthan Royals by 14 runs at Jaipur, starting their season on an excellent note.

The Preity Zinta co-owned franchise had finished the last season at the bottom of the table. However, having made a few changes ahead of this season, the side looked quite confident in today's match.

Rajasthan Royals on the other hand lacked approach in both the departments, giving Punjab an opportunity to go on the top. While batting first, the Ravichandran Ashwin-led side didn't find the start they would have wished as KL Rahul departed in the very first over.

'Gaylestorm' storms Punjab to a big win

However, the vintage, Chris Gayle made his presence felt, sending the other franchises a strong alarm for the season. The Caribbean star played some superb shots he is known for, helping Punjab post a big total on the board. With the help of 4 sixes and 8 fours, he made 79 runs off 47 balls.

Late in the innings, it was the youngster, Sarfaraz Khan who played the finisher's role, taking KXIP to 184 runs total.

In reply, Rajasthan went off to a good start as skipper, Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler looked quite solid at the crease. They formed a stand of 78 runs before Rahane was removed from the crease. Buttler, however, kept playing his shots and received good support from Sanju Samson as well.

Everything was going well for Royals, though a controversial run-out of Buttler by Ashwin changed the scenario of the game. The spinner mankaded the wicket-keeper batsman, getting Punjab back in the game.

Later, the Men in Blue lost wickets on regular intervals, lastly, falling well short of 14 runs.

Gayle for his fiery knock was undoubtedly the Player of the Match.

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