Chris Gayle got a game for Kings XI Punjab after seven games and the Universe Boss had an immediate impact smacking five sixes en route to a match-winning 53 off 44 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore to hand KXIP their second win of the tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah on Thursday. And while Gayle's return to the playing 11 itself was celebrated by fans on social media, his match-winning knock was the icing on the cake. From fans to former cricketers, everyone was happy to see Gayle back in the park.

While the skipper KL Rahul was given the Man of the Match award for his unbeaten 49-ball 61, he said the award should go to Gayle. After Mayank Agarwal's 25-ball 45 set up the chase, Gayle and Rahul added 93 for the second wicket as KXIP got their second win.

Heres' now fans and cricketers reacted to the Universe Boss entertaining in IPL 2020 for the first time:

If the universe boss @henrygayle middles the ball it will land in abu dabhi from Sharjah 😂! @klrahul11 and @mayankcricket great start to the chase ! Hopefully these guys should finish the game ! Surprised to see @ABdeVilliers17 coming to bat so late ! #RCBvKXIP #IPL2020

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 15, 2020

Good to see @henrygayle back and scoring a wonderful 53. Wonder what @lionsdenkxip were thinking by leaving him out all this while. #RCBvKXIP #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/OeTPWbC5t3

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 15, 2020

The run chase was supposed to be straightforward after Agarwal took the opposition to the cleaners in the powerplay before Rahul took over. As usual, the 41-year-old Gayle, batting at three, took his time early on before going ballistic. Earlier, KXIP conceded only 25 runs from over 16-19 before Morris and Isuru Udana hammered Shami for three sixes