Gayle dazzles in Kings XI victory

Agencies
April 16, 2018

Chris Gayle showed that he was not yet a spent force as he smashed his second fastest fifty in the IPL to help Kings XI Punjab defeat Chennai Super Kings by four runs in a thrilling game here on Sunday night.

The 38-year-old Jamaican, who twice went unsold at the auction and was later picked up by the Punjab franchise for a base price of Rs 2 crore, played a trademark innings toying with the opposition attack. Playing his first game of the season, he hammered 63 off 33 balls and raced to his half-century off 22 balls. His fastest fifty had come off 17 balls, against Pune in 2013. His knock was studded with four sixes and seven boundaries.

Riding on Gayle’s knock, Kings XI posted 197 for seven. CSK, with captain MS Dhoni leading the way, made a strong chase. Dhoni hammered an unbeaten 79 off just 44 balls but even he couldn’t take CSK past the line. Ambati Rayudu was the other CSK batsmen to offer some challenge, hitting 49 but the target proved too stiff in the end. CSK ended at 193 for five.

Earlier, Gayle weaved a 96-run opening partnership alongside the in-form K L Rahul (37 off 22), setting up the platform for a big score. Mayank Agarwal (30 off 19) and Karun Nair (29 off 17) too chipped in with useful contributions. For CSK, Shardul Thakur and Imran Tahir picked up two scalps each while Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo got a wicket each. Harbhajan Singh gave Chennai the first breakthrough when Rahul was caught by Dwayne Bravo, but by then KXIP were comfortably placed and reached 100 in just 8.4 overs. Two overs later Gayle too departed, handing over a simple catch to Imran Tahir at short fine leg off Shane Watson’s bowling. Tahir then dealt a double blow but KXIP eventually reached a strong total.

Scoreboard

KINGS XI PUNJAB: Rahul c Bravo b Harbhajan 37; Gayle c Tahir b Watson 63; Agarwal c Ravindra Jadeja b Tahir 30; Yuvraj c Dhoni b Thakur 20; Finch lbw Tahir 0; Karun c Ravindra Jadeja b Bravo 29; Ashwin c Dhoni b Thakur 14; Tye (not out) 3; Sran (not out) 0; Extras: (W-1) 1. Total (for seven wickets, in 20 overs) 197.

Fall of wickets: 1-96, 2-127, 3-149, 4-149, 5-157, 6-190, 7-195.

Bowling: Chahar 3-0-37-0, Harbhajan 4-0-41-1, Thakur 3-0-33-2, Tahir 4-0-34-2, Watson 2-0-15-1, Bravo 4-0-37-1.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:  Watson c Barinder b Mohit 11; Vijay c Barinder b Tye 12; Rayudu (run out) 49; Billings lbw Ashwin 9; Dhoni (not out) 79; Jadeja c Ashwin b Tye 19; Bravo (not out) 1; Extras (LB-2, W-11) 13. Total (for five wickets, in 20 overs) 193.

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-39, 3-56, 4-113, 5-163.

Bowling: Sran 4-0-37-0; Mohit 4-0-47-1; Tye 4-0-47-2; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3-0-18-0; Ashwin 4-0-32-1;Yuvraj 1-0-10-0.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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