‘If Rashid Khan Comes On, I Am Gonna Finish Him’: KL Rahul Recalls Chris Gayle’s Century Against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018
IPL 2018 was Gayle’s first season with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) but there wasn’t any difference in his batting style. KL Rahul, who opened with Gayle in that game, recalled the encounter and revealed the Caribbean star’s aggressive approach against SRH leg-spinner Rashid Khan.
Chris Gayle is one of the most dangerous batsmen to have ever stepped onto the cricket field and his record in all forms of cricket speaks volumes of his capabilities. The southpaw has also piled his trade in the Indian Premier League where he destroyed many potent batting line-ups. In fact, he is the only batsman to date to score six centuries in the gala tournament. One of them came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018. It was Gayle’s first season with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) but there wasn’t any difference in his batting style. KL Rahul, who opened with Gayle in that game, recalled the encounter and revealed the Caribbean star’s aggressive approach against SRH leg-spinner Rashid Khan. CPL 2020: Chris Gayle Pulls Out of Caribbean Premier League.
Rahul and Gayle were recently hosted by another Kings XI Punjab batsman Mayank Agarwal on his chat show ‘Open Nets.’ Rahul sheds light on the encounter and revealed that Gayle made him clear that if Rashid gives him a stare, he’ll ‘destroy’ the leg-spinner.
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“I remember one instance in 2018, he (Chris Gayle) was hungry, he was angry, and he wanted to win. We had a match against the Sunrisers, and he told me, ‘If Rashid Khan comes on, I am gonna finish him because I don’t like a spinner coming and staring me down. If he stares at me, I am going to finish him’,” said Rahul on the show.
The Universe Boss delivered in the game as he toiled the SRH bowlers throughout the game and scored a brilliant century. He scored an unbeaten 104 off 63 deliveries as KXIP posted 193/3 while batting first and went on to clinch the encounter by 15 runs.
“He (Gayle) said, ‘Give me the single, I want to play six balls against Rashid Khan’. And I think that’s the first time I saw Chris’ give-me-this attitude. He had a clear plan and I think he got a hundred that game,” added Rahul.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 24, 2020 04:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).