West Indies big hitting batsman Chris Gayle is known as the boss in Twenty20 cricket as he again proved himself in the just concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 final by breaking the World records.
Representing for Rangpur Riders in the final against Dhaka Dynamites, Gayle hammered a 69-ball, unbeaten 146 as his side piled up 206 for 1. The left hander’s knock included five fours and a world record of 18 sixes. The dashing opener also shared a partnership of 201 with skipper Brendon McCullum who smashed 51 off 43 balls.
Gayle started off in trademark style by smashing three boundaries before launching left-arm orthodox spinner Mossaddek Hossain for three sixes in the sixth over. He reached his 50 off 33 balls by smacking Khaled Ahmed for two fours and a six.
After reaching 50, Gayle’s savage hitting went up another notch. He launched Shahid Afridi for three sixes and Abu Hider for two more sixes but Dhaka Dynamites were hurt immensely in the last three overs as Gayle pillaged seven sixes and one four to race to 146. His knock helped Rangpur Riders clinch the BPL-2017 title.
Record-breaking machine
Gayle’s century was his 20th in Twenty20 format and his fifth overall in the BPL. Following his knock of 146, the Jamaican superstar has also made history.
His unbeaten 146 helped him become the first batsman in T20 history to aggregate 11,000 runs. Gayle also became the only batsman to hit 20 T20 centuries. His tally of 18 sixes in a Twenty20 innings is a world record, breaking his own mark of 17, which he smashed in his unbeaten 175 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Sahara Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League, he has hit 47 sixes in 11 games. His 18 sixes have taken his T20 tally of sixes to 819, the most in history. When it comes to T20, Gayle indeed is supreme.
11056 – Number of runs by Chris Gayle in T20s. He is the first batsman to go past 11,000 in this format.
18 – Most number of sixes hit by Gayle in an innings, breakings his own record of 17 hit in his knock of 175 in IPL-2013.
20 – Number of centuries hit by Gayle in T20s, the first batsman to achieve this feat.
47 – Number of sixes hit by Gayle in 2017 Bangladesh Premier League.
5 – Number of centuries for Gayle in the BPL.
819 – Number of sixes hit by Gayle in T20s, the most ever by a batsman in this format.
