Despite a late surge in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) bowed out of the tournament after losing their last two leagues matches against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). After wininng just one out of their first six matches, KXIP staged a commendable fightback by winning five matches in a row. After the franchise bowed out of the tournament, co-owner Preity Zinta penned down an emotional note for the fans who had been cheering for the team throughout the season.
“Time to say goodbye to #IPL & Dubai. Not the season we hoped for but we will come back bigger, better & stronger So many thrills, heart attacks, highs,lows & memorable moments. It’s been a shorter run than what we hoped for,” Zinta, who was seen cheering from the stands for her team, wrote on Twitter.
“But I wanna thank all the fans of @lionsdenkxip for standing by us & supporting us through thick n thin Thank you for being so awesome. You guys are the wind beneath our wings #Goodbye #Ipl2020 #Dream11IPL #Saddapunjab #ting,” Zinta signed off.
KXIP boasted of a fearsome top order in KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran. The four batsmen scored a heap of runs in the 13th edition being played in UAE. After being dropped for the first six matches, Gayle took the tournament by a storm as his inclusion in the side also changed the team’s fortunes. Since Gayle’s inclusion, the team went on to win five matches in a row.
KXIP’s five-match winning streak ended against Steve Smith & Co – where batting first, Punjab put a challenging 185-run total on board, riding on a magnificent 63-ball 99 by Gayle. In reply, Royals’ top-order clicked as a unit as Robin Uthappa (30 from 23), Ben Stokes (50 from 26), Sanju Samson (48 from 25), Steve Smith (31* from 20) and Jos Buttler (22* from 11) were all among the runs. Royals won the match by 7 wickets.
