Chris Gayle despite slamming another half-century was unable to prevent Kings XI Punjab going down by six wickets to the Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
The left-hander, in his 65 minute stay at the crease, hit six fours and 5 sixes on his way to 69 off 37 balls to lead the KIngs to a defendable 163 for 7.
Mandeep Singh also added 30 while Sandeep Lamichhane (3-40) led the Delhi attack.
There were 2 wickets each for Kagiso Rabada and Axar Patel.
Chasing 164, Shikar Dhawan (56) and captain Shreyas Iyer (58) set the platform by adding 92 off 62 balls for the second wicket. But once Dhawan fell, Capitals slipped from needing 28 off 24 to needing six off the last over with five wickets in hand. Iyer though held his nerve and hit the winning boundary off Sam Curran with two balls to spare.
Earlier, Gayle’s half-century gave Kings XI a breezy start and took them to 50 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay. But Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and David Miller managed just 21 off 23 between them, and once Gayle was dismissed, and Mandeep Singh failed to step up, Kings XI had to settle for 163 for 7.
Delhi with Saturday’s result moved into a tie for second place with the Mumbai Indians on 12 points while Kings XI Punjab are 4th on 10.