IPL 2020: Jofra Archer salutes Chris Gayle on Twitter after dismissing him on 99

Chris Gayle is ageing like a fine wine. The West Indies legend is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. At an age when most cricketers enjoy their retirement phase, the 41-year old is busy taking bowlers to the cleaners. On Friday, the Kings XI Punjab star once again showed that age is just a number with his scintillating 99-run knock against Rajasthan Royals.

The left-handed batsman faced 63 balls in the innings and hit six fours and eight sixes. He needed 8 runs in the final over to complete a well-deserved ton. He started the over bowled by Jofra Archer with a single before hitting the Royals pacer for a six on the third ball. Gayle was looking set to complete his first century of the season.

However, Archer showed his class by bowling a brilliant yorker and denied Gayle the century by just one run. Gayle was so disappointed over missing the century that he had thrown his bat away in anger before regaining his composure. Eventually, his brilliant knock went in vain as Royals beat Kings XI Punjab by 7 wickets to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Jofra Archer salutes Chris Gayle

Just moments after the game ended in Abu Dhabi, Jofra Archer took to Twitter to hail Chris Gayle. Despite winning the battle on the field, the England World Cup-winner admitted that Chris Gayle was “still the boss”, tweeting: ‘Still the boss @henrygayle.’

Still the boss @henrygayle pic.twitter.com/bV1y3Azijp

— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) October 30, 2020

Talking about the game, the Royals came up with yet another stunning batting display to chase down 185 with the utmost ease. The Steve Smith-led side took less than 18 overs to cross the finishing line. Ben Stokes gave Royals a flying start by scoring a 25-ball fifty before Sanju Samson put the team in the driver’s seat by scoring 48 off 25 balls.

Steve Smith (31 not out) and Jos Buttler (22 not out) then shared an unbeaten partnership of 41 runs to finish the game for their side. The Royals will now take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their final league match while KXIP face an already-eliminated Chennai Super Kings in their last league game.