Birthday special: Best of Chris Gayle in T20 cricket
Chris Gayle has played a key role in making the Twenty20 cricket a popular format with his regular big-hitting knocks. Ever since he got picked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2011 IPL, he has found himself at the top of many lists of this format. The impact of Gayle in the Twenty20 format is such that not many people remember how big a player he was in ODI and Test formats. Here we look at the top five batting performances of Chris Gayle in T20 cricket:
151* (62) vs Kent in 2015:
During the 2015 T20 Blast match at Taunton, Chris Gayle walked to bat for Somerset to chase a target of 228 against Kent. The home team was 2/24 after four overs before Gayle’s six-hitting fest began. By the end of the innings, Gayle faced 62 balls in which he scored an unbeaten 151 with the help of ten fours and 15 sixes. Only one other batsman crossed the 15-run mark as Somerset fell three runs short of Kent’s total. Somerset finished with 224/7 and 67.41% of those came from Gayle’s bat only.
117 (57) vs South Africa in 2007:
Chris Gayle was instrumental in making the inaugural edition of the World T20 get a smashing start. On the very first day of the tournament, Gayle smashed a century against the hosts South Africa. He struck ten sixes and seven fours on his way to a 57-ball 117 as West Indies raced to 178/3 in only 16.2 overs. But after Gayle’s dismissal, West Indies scored only 27 runs in 22 balls and a poor bowling effort that followed saw South Africa winning the game.
90 (41) vs South Africa in 2015:
Chris Gayle walked out to bat in Johannesburg during the 2015 tour of South Africa when West Indies needed to chase down the 232-run target to win the T20I series. Gayle kept smashing the South African pacers on his way to a 20-ball fifty. There was no settling down for him even after the powerplay where 86 runs came by. The Jamaican smashed seven maximums and nine fours before being dismissed for a 41-ball 90 after he brought down the RRR under ten.
146 (69) vs Dhaka Dynamites in 2017:
Chris Gayle represented Rangpur Riders in the 2017 BPL and the final took place against Dhaka Dynamites that consisted of Shakib Al Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis. Riders, who batted first, lost Johnson Charles in the next over itself. From there, Gayle put on an unbeaten 201-run stand for the 2nd wicket with Brendon McCullum. He smashed an unbeaten 146 from 59 balls with a world record 18 sixes and five fours. Dynamites, in reply, scored only 149/9, just three runs more than Gayle’s individual score.
175* (63) vs Pune Warriors in 2013:
Chris Gayle showed what sort of damage he can do if he stays full 20 overs during the 2013 IPL match. Playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors India, the Universe Boss smashed a record unbeaten 175 from only 66 balls with help of 13 fours and 17 maximums. Gayle reached his fifty in 17 balls and took only 13 deliveries more to bring up his hundred in 30 balls; the fastest of this format. His next fifty was the slowest one needing 23 balls but a strong finish by Gayle helped RCB to post 263/5 in their 20 overs.
