gayle plays his first ipl 7 match

Chris Gayle played his first game of IPL 2014 after missing the first four matches due to a sore back. His return will be a morale booster for Royal Challengers Bangalore, who were asked to bat by Kings XI Punjab captain George Bailey, in the final game the teams will play in the UAE before heading to India.

Gayle replaced his West Indies team-mate Ravi Rampaul, while the in-form fast bowler Varun Aaron returned to the line-up, in place of the allrounder Sachin Rana. Kings XI went in with an unchanged line-up.

Royal Challengers were humiliated by Rajasthan Royals in their last match, where they were bowled out for 70. Kings XI, the table-toppers, remained unbeaten with four consecutive wins.

Kings XI Punjab: 1 Cheteshwar Pujara, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 George Bailey (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 David Miller, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 Mitchell Johnson, 8 Rishi Dhawan, 9 Akshar Patel, 10 L Balaji, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Yogesh Takawale, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Ashok Dinda, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Varun Aaron

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8:35 AM

Chris Gayle to miss Ram Slam T20 Challenge

Chris Gayle has said that he will "skip" joining up with Dolphins for South Africa's domestic Ram Slam T20 Challenge, as he is still recovering from injury. Gayle announced in a television interview during the Big Bash League match between Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat that he would not be travelling to Durban, instead focusing on making a return for West Indies' regional 50-over competition, which begins at the end of January.

This is the second time Gayle has withdrawn from Dolphins, after a similar situation two seasons ago. Gayle originally signed with Dolphins for the 2011-12 tournament but did not play a game. On that occasion, he arrived in South Africa carrying an injury, received treatment in Durban and then left when it became apparent that he would not recover in time.

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5:02 AM