What do you do, when a batting gladiator is at the peak of his powers and goes on the rampage? What do you do, when whatever plan you come up with are thwarted? What do you do, when the ball disappears everywhere across the stadium, and you look on, not knowing what to do?
Well, these would have been the thoughts going through the minds of the hapless Pune Warriors bowling attack as Chris Gayle pummeled them to all parts of the ground on his way to a murderous 175* off just 66 balls at the Chinnaswamy stadium on the 23rd of April 2013. On the way, Gayle shattered a plethora of batting records on a sunny afternoon in Bangalore.
The Chris Gayle Storm
The RCB side won the toss and chose to bat first on a strip that was an absolute batting beauty. The West Indian batting legend made his intentions clear in the second over of the game bowled by Ishwar Pandey.
He scored 5 boundaries off Pandey in the over, and the ball was dispatched to all parts of the ground. The Bangalore side raced to 24/0 at the end of two overs, and Gayle was at his destructive best.
Gayle welcomed Mitchell Marsh to the bowling crease by smashing him over Long On for six off the first ball of the fifth over. The ball was over pitched, and Gayle swatted it into the crowd with ridiculous ease. The next ball saw the shot of the match played by Gayle. Marsh bowled the ball up, and Gayle deposited the ball over cover for six. Marsh stood there, gaping at Gayle in sheer disbelief.
The last two balls were smashed for sixes over Marsh’s head, and Gayle brought up his fifty as early as the fifth over of the game.
Fastest T20 Hundred
(Image Credits: firstpost)
The situation was getting so hopeless that skipper Aaron Finch came and rolled his arm over, in a desperate move to stop Gayle. Instead, Finch was demolished for 29 runs in the over, as Gayle tore into him like a man possessed. In the fifth ball of the 9th over, Gayle rewrote the record books.
He smashed Ashok Dinda straight over his head for a monstrous six and scored the fastest hundred ever, in T20 cricket. The crowd at the Chinnaswamy stadium was on its feet to salute the big man.
Highest Run Scorer In IPL
After the hundred, Gayle did not seem to be in any mood to slow down. Off the last ball of the 13th over, Gayle pulled Marsh over mid wicket with disdain, and the ball hit the roof of the stadium.
Off the third ball of the 15th over, Murtaza flighted the cherry to Gayle, the big West Indian got onto his front foot and smashed the ball out of the stadium. “That landed on Mars”, read the giant screen in the stadium.
Gayle brought up his 150 with another murderous six over mid wicket. The Pune outfit seemed totally clueless as Gayle went about slaughtering their bowling attack. His final six of the innings came off the first ball of the 20th over. Dinda bowled an over pitched delivery on off stump, and Gayle smashed him over cover for his 17th and last six. In the process Chris Gayle become the highest run scorer in IPL history.
Smashed Several Records
Besides, Gayle went on to shatter several records in his marathon knock. He became the first and only man to score a hundred runs in sixes alone in T20 cricket, scored the fastest T20 hundred and scored 154 runs in boundaries alone. In reply, the Pune outfit was bundled out for just 133 runs.
In other words, Chris Gayle beat Pune Warriors India by 42 runs.
An Unbeaten Record
7 years on Chris Gayle’s record has remained unbeaten. No other player has even shown the intent to break Gayle’s record and become the highest run scorer in IPL history.
Let us know in the comment section, what do you think of Chris Gayle’s 175*? What are your memories of the innings? Why do you think he has remained the highest run scorer in IPL history? Which player can break his record?
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