In Stats: World Boss Gayle Was The Force Behind West Indies’ Win

West Indies cruised to their target of 183, helped substantially by Chris Gayle’s 100.

The West Indies began their campaign in the ICC World T20 2016 with a resounding victory over England. Set to chase 183 on a fantastic batting track, West Indies cruised to the target, crossing the finish line with nearly two overs to spare. And yes, you guessed right. It was World Boss Chris Gayle who was the force behind the win.

The Jamaican scored a fabulous 100 off just 48 balls, to knock the sails off the English bowling attack. Purists advocate that batsmen attempt to play in the ‘V’ on most occasions and the West Indies opener certainly scored the bulk of this runs in the ‘V’; only that most of the deliveries were hit a mile in the air and crossed the boundary by a fair distance on most occasions.

Gayle’s innings wasn’t all slam-bang stuff. It was a methodical and calculated approach by the Windies opener; here was a supremely confident batsman who was out to ‘entertain’. That he took his time to get going must have by itself set the alarm bells ringing in the England dressing room. For, generally when he has started off in a conservative fashion – at least in the Indian Premier League – he has gone on to get a big one and demolished the opposition. It was the same story yet again, and a hapless England were at the receiving end this time.

After not getting any strike in the first over, Gayle was fairly quick off the blocks, scoring ten runs off the six deliveries he faced in the second over of the innings. But thereafter, for the next 3.3 overs, the left-hander would have to be content watching from the non-striker’s end as Marlon Samuels went berserk.

But once he got his chance back, there was no stopping him; he tore into the English bowling attack, picked up boundaries at will and raced to his second century in T20 Internationals, in the process rewriting several records.

When bowling to batsmen of the calibre of Chris Gayle, it is important for bowlers to quickly realise which length to target. The English bowlers, it appeared, did not do their homework sufficiently and kept feeding the Jamaican deliveries in his bat-swing zone.

And not surprisingly, the 36-year old duly kept depositing them into the stands.