Twitterverse was not happy with the playing XI that Punjab Kings (PBKS) selected for the 32nd match of the IPL 2021 against Rajasthan Royals in Dubai on September 21, 2021. PBKS captain KL Rahul won the toss and chose to bowl first, calling it a no-brainer.
However, the Twitterverse was not happy with the playing XI that PBKS went with in the match as KL Rahul revealed that Chris Gayle, who is celebrating his 42nd birthday today, will not be playing. Apart from Gayle, PBKS made seven changes to their XI from their last game.
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Given that they are missing the services of Dawid Malan and Riley Meredith from that match, still, the decision to bench Chris Gayle, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who starred with the ball for them in IPL 2020 in UAE, and Shahrukh Khan proved to be head-scratching.
RR got a flying start as Evin Lewis (36) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (49) added 54 runs in 5.2 overs. Then Liam Livingstone (25) added some runs as PBKS got rid of Sanju Samson for just 4 runs. But Mahipal Lomror took the attack to PBKS bowlers hitting 43 in 17 balls with 4 sixes and 2 fours.
While RR looked set for a total of 200 plus, Mohammad Shami (3/21) and Arshdeep Singh (5/32) managed to keep Rajasthan Royals to 185 in 20 overs.
Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with Anil Kumble being trolled left-right and center for making bizarre decisions while selecting the playing XI for Punjab Kings. They were not happy with the non-selection of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Chris Gayle.
Here are the tweets:
