How the “Gayle Strom” maid the History
No force in the world could stop Chris Gayle from exploding on a
hapless Pune Warriors India. The Jamaican entertainer was ruthless, unstoppable
and blemishless as he cut a deep, unforgettable swathe through the Aaron
Finch-led side with a whirlwind 66-ball unbeaten 175.
The records that fell by the wayside overshadowed the whopping 130-run victory that Royal Challengers Bangalore scored at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Tuesday 23rd April 2013.
Thanks to the opener's power-hitting, RCB rolled to a record-breaking total too - 263 for 5, beating CSK's 2010 total of 246/5 against Rajasthan Royals. No bowler - from Ashok Dinda to Mitchell Marsh - was spared as Gayle first figured in a 84-ball, 167-run first-wicket partnership with Tillakaratne Dilshan before winging ahead with a fruitful association with AB De Villiers.
That Dilshan contributed a mere 33 runs in that defining partnership tells a story in itself. Chasing an insurmountable total, Pune finished at 133/9 with Steve Smith (41) and Marsh (25) chipping in with their bits.
A rain interruption during the second over of the day that halted the game for 22 minutes proved to be an early dampener but once the RCB openers stepped out, the Gayle mantra was on everybody's lips at the Chinnaswamy.
Every delivery that Gayle singled out for special treatment either beat the fielder near the fence or disappeared into the stands. He smashed Ranji Trophy's highest wicket-taker Ishwar Pandey for three straight boundaries.
Then came Australian pacer Marsh only to have his pride severely dented when Gayle sent him for two back-to-back sixes to long-on and extra cover before following it up with a boundary over point. He then lifted two straight sixes over the sightscreen to reap 28 runs in the over.
After surviving a leg-before appeal by Ali Murtaza, Gayle was a lot more aggressive. He swatted Finch for 29 runs as RCB scampered to 100 runs in just 7.5 overs.
Soon he sent Dinda soaring over long-off to set an all-time record of fastest 100 in T20, needing just 30 balls to achieve it. Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball effort was history. Prior to that, Gayle had raced to 50 in 17 balls, equaling Adam Gilchrist's mark.
Eventually, when he carried the bat for an utterly entertaining 175, Gayle had the record of the highest individual score in the history of T20 also in his clasp.
The knock contained 17 towering sixes - one of them forcing the umpires to pick a new ball - and 13 boundaries, putting to shade the previous best of 158 by KKR's Brendon McCullum in Bangalore in 2008. McCullum needed 73 balls to reach 150 while Gayle just took 53 balls.
De Villiers too joined the fun with a cameo of 31 (3x6, 3x4) from just eight balls to light up the end overs.
Gayle was in the thick of action in the PWI's innings too, bagging two wickets in the space of three balls in the last over and thrilling the near-capacity crowd with his Gangnam-style jig for each wicket he claimed.
He even poked fun at his former KKR team-mate Ashok Dinda, making a throat slashing gesture as the batsman walked up to the striker's end to open his account. RCB pace duo of Ravi Rampaul and Jaydev Unadkat chipped in with two wicket each.
The records that fell by the wayside overshadowed the whopping 130-run victory that Royal Challengers Bangalore scored at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Tuesday 23rd April 2013.
Thanks to the opener's power-hitting, RCB rolled to a record-breaking total too - 263 for 5, beating CSK's 2010 total of 246/5 against Rajasthan Royals. No bowler - from Ashok Dinda to Mitchell Marsh - was spared as Gayle first figured in a 84-ball, 167-run first-wicket partnership with Tillakaratne Dilshan before winging ahead with a fruitful association with AB De Villiers.
That Dilshan contributed a mere 33 runs in that defining partnership tells a story in itself. Chasing an insurmountable total, Pune finished at 133/9 with Steve Smith (41) and Marsh (25) chipping in with their bits.
A rain interruption during the second over of the day that halted the game for 22 minutes proved to be an early dampener but once the RCB openers stepped out, the Gayle mantra was on everybody's lips at the Chinnaswamy.
Every delivery that Gayle singled out for special treatment either beat the fielder near the fence or disappeared into the stands. He smashed Ranji Trophy's highest wicket-taker Ishwar Pandey for three straight boundaries.
Then came Australian pacer Marsh only to have his pride severely dented when Gayle sent him for two back-to-back sixes to long-on and extra cover before following it up with a boundary over point. He then lifted two straight sixes over the sightscreen to reap 28 runs in the over.
After surviving a leg-before appeal by Ali Murtaza, Gayle was a lot more aggressive. He swatted Finch for 29 runs as RCB scampered to 100 runs in just 7.5 overs.
Soon he sent Dinda soaring over long-off to set an all-time record of fastest 100 in T20, needing just 30 balls to achieve it. Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball effort was history. Prior to that, Gayle had raced to 50 in 17 balls, equaling Adam Gilchrist's mark.
Eventually, when he carried the bat for an utterly entertaining 175, Gayle had the record of the highest individual score in the history of T20 also in his clasp.
The knock contained 17 towering sixes - one of them forcing the umpires to pick a new ball - and 13 boundaries, putting to shade the previous best of 158 by KKR's Brendon McCullum in Bangalore in 2008. McCullum needed 73 balls to reach 150 while Gayle just took 53 balls.
De Villiers too joined the fun with a cameo of 31 (3x6, 3x4) from just eight balls to light up the end overs.
Gayle was in the thick of action in the PWI's innings too, bagging two wickets in the space of three balls in the last over and thrilling the near-capacity crowd with his Gangnam-style jig for each wicket he claimed.
He even poked fun at his former KKR team-mate Ashok Dinda, making a throat slashing gesture as the batsman walked up to the striker's end to open his account. RCB pace duo of Ravi Rampaul and Jaydev Unadkat chipped in with two wicket each.
Lets know more about the “Gayle Strom”
His
destructive batting has got him nicknames like ‘GayleForce’ and
‘GayleStorm’. He is 6ft 3in tall and an all-rounder, bats left-handed and
bowls right-arm off break. He captained the West Indies’ Test side from
2007 to 2010. Apart from playing for West Indies, he is also associated
with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, Sydney Thunder in the
BBL and the Barisal Burners in the BPL.
He played
for West Indies at the youth international level before making his first
class debut at the age of 19 for Jamaica.
Chris
Gayle made his One Day International (ODI) debut on September 11, 1999
against India and was included in the West Indian squad for the 2003 World
Cup. At the 2006 Champions Trophy, he was a part of the team that played
at the finals against Australia.
Chris
Gayle played his first international Test match on March 16, 2000
against Zimbabwe, and in July 2001, he set up a 214-run partnership with
Daren Ganga, a teammate, which became the record for opening partnerships
at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. By the end of 2002, he scored three
centuries against India and also became the third West Indian to score
1000 runs in a calendar year. In January 2004 Chris Gayle hit a century
off 79 balls when chasing a first-inning South African score of
532, following which he again scored a century against Bangladesh.
In 2005
he was included in the Test series against South Africa; he played in the
fourth match in Antigua and made 317 runs. It was also the first triple
century against South Africa. During the 2005-06 tour of New Zealand,he opened
the batting in the three-Test series and scored 235 runs, becoming the
first West Indian to cross the 200-run mark.
He played
his first Twenty20 international (T20I) on February 16, 2006 against New
Zealand and in 2007, he scored 117 runs off just 57 balls, in the opening
match against South Africa at the International Cricket Council (ICC)
World T20 Championship.
In April
2008, he was purchased by the Kolkata Knight Riders team for $800,000,
making him one of the most expensive players of the Kolkata team at the
2008 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he failed to play as he had to
join the West Indies team for a series against Australia.
Royal
Challengers Bangalore got Chris Gayle as a replacement for Dirk Nannes, who
got injured during a match against Mumbai Indians in the fourth season. Until his
entry into the squad the team was struggling and were not well placed in the
league. But, since his arrival, he placed Royal Challengers Bangalore on the
top of the points table. No ground is too big for the Caribbean lad who once
scored 36 runs off just one over in a match against Kochi.
He was
undoubtedly the most entertaining player of IPL 2011. Gayle scored 608 runs
which includes 2 hundreds and also picked up 8 wickets in 12 matches of IPL
2011. Unfortunately, RCB lost to Chennai Super Kings in the finals. Much to the
delight of RCB fans, Gayle was retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for
the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.
In 2012
he scored a whopping 128* of just 62
balls against Delhi Daredevils. The innings was paced with seven 4’s and
thirteen 6’s at a strike rate of 206.45!
His aggregate
in IPL5 is 733 at an average of 61.08 and strike rate of 160.74. In his 14
innings, he has 46 - 4’s and 59 - 6’s with 7 fifties and 1 hundred. The
only person next to him standing second was Gautham Gambhir at an
aggregate of 588 runs. Well, the stat says it all!
He also helped
his team (West Indies) win the T20 World Cup 2012. He scored 222 runs in 7
matches at an average of 44.40 and strike rate of 150. He hit 19 – 4’s and 16 –
6’s in the league which includes three 50’s.
When not
playing cricket, He enjoys playing video games and also likes watching Tom and
Jerry shows on the television. Recently, we have been seeing him dancing the
GANGNAM STYLE, celebrating and enjoying his life!
Litmus test : "Impossible = I M Possible So dream impossible."
-Diptesh
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