Kings XI Punjab failed to make the most of the flying start given by openers Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul and settled for 197/7 against Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Sunday.
Rahul (37 runs in 22 balls) and Gayle (63 runs in 33 balls) gave the hosts a rousing start, slamming 96 runs in eight overs. But after their wickets, no other batsman took advantage of it and failed to score runs, thanks to the Chennai bowlers' disciplined bowling.
Rahul fell in the eighth over when the scoreboard was reading 96. After adding a few more runs, Gayle also departed. Pacer Shane Watson took Gayle's wicket in the 12th over. The West Indian batsman slammed seven boundaries and four sixes.
Mayank Agarwal (30) and Yuvraj Singh (20), then tried to maintain the pace set by the openers but in the process both departed after a good start.
Aaron Finch was out on a golden duck.
Karun Nair (29) and skipper Ravichandran Ashwin (14) tried to stretch their team's total to the 200-run mark but failed and departed one after the other.
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For Chennai, Shardul Thakur and Imran Tahir scalped two wicket each.
Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 197/7 (Chris Gayle 63; Imran Tahir 2/34) against Chennai Super Kings)
--IANS
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