Andrew Tye has been one of the costliest buys for Kings XI Punjab in this season of IPL. Though Tye has not been quite economical in the first games, his bowling spells didn’t disappoint in the last nights match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But the show was stolen by none other than the Indies all-rounder Christopher Henry Gayle.
The beast made comeback last match but no one knew what was coming Thursday night. Getting unsold in first few rounds of the auction, Gayle gave a fitting reply to his back talkers. Champions always take their talent to the grave. thank you to Sehwag and Zinta for buying the universal boss on the last call with a base price.
Gayle storm came in all rushes hitting his 279th six of IPL. The first ton and his 21st career century in IPL came in this match. The Mohali crowd and players were all in feet of appraisal. Andrew Tye too couldn’t hold him back from praising such swashbuckling innings. He thanked Gayle for putting up a huge total on the boards. He complimented Gayle on his smart hitting choices.
“Gayle played to perfection. He made sure that he stayed there until the end. You don’t often see (spinner Rashid) Khan get hit for more than 25 in one over. To make Rashid concede that many runs (55 in four overs) were awesome,” Tye said on post-match performance.
When Tye was asked what would he have done if he had found Gayle batting on another end? He replied that he would try to get him on the non-striker’s end as soon as possible.
“I guess you could try and get him off the strike, but at the same time as pace bowlers, you want to get him out because you know you have spin to come and he is lining up to attack them. It is different for every pitch you play on, tonight might have been the case of going short at him or could have been the case of just try him play some big shots and make him miss one,” Tye added.
Tye was seen using his knuckleballs to perfection and use a lot of variations. He got Williamson and Deepak Hooda out at an important time helping Punjab to get on the match.
“I try and figure out what is working for me on the day. Today was knuckleball and I stuck with that. Sometimes it works, sometimes you get hit with the crowd and you look like an idiot, but that’s alright,” he concluded.
Kings Xi Punjab will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
