Christopher Henry Gayle, popularly known as Chris Gayle, celebrates his 37th birthday on 21 September. Regarded as the most stylish and flamboyant cricketer around, Gayle is known for his swashbuckling batting, larger than life attitude and for being an entertainer on the cricket field.
With a plethora of records attached to his name, Gayle matches the stature of those termed as best in this business. The worst nightmare for any bowler, the lanky Jamaican has scored 17,954 runs in 422 matches so far, across all three formats in the international circuit.
Gayle is one of only four players to have scored two triple centuries at the Test level – 317 against South Africa and 333 against Sri Lanka in 2010. In 2012, playing against Bangladesh, Chris Gayle became the first ever batsman to hit a six on the first ball of a Test match.
The Quint looks at Chris Gayle’s top 5 innings on his birthday.
1. 175 Against Pune Warriors in IPL 2013
Chris Gayle’s best ever T20 knock came during the 2013 season of the Indian Premier League. Batting for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he smashed the record of the fastest hundred against Pune Warriors in a mere 30 balls and then went on to score the highest individual total (175 runs) by a player in a T20 match.
RCB convincingly won the match by 130 runs.
2. 333 Against Sri Lanka in 2010
Playing the first Test match of the series against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2010, West Indies opener Chris Gayle smashed his second triple hundred in Test cricket.
His innings of 333, which was also his highest score in Tests, helped the visitors put a massive first innings total of 580 runs on the board. The match was drawn as West Indies failed to take 20 wickets in the end.
3. 100* in 48 Balls Against England in 2016
During the World T20 tournament in India in March 2016, Chris Gayle registered the fastest World T20 hundred, staying unbeaten on 100 against England. He completed the century in just 48 balls.
In fact in the course of the match, Gayle also smashed 11 sixes which is the most by any batsman in the mega event. Courtesy of his power-hitting, West Indies won the match by six wickets.
4. 215 Against Zimbabwe in 2015
Playing against Zimbabwe in the Pool B match of the 2015 World Cup, Chris Gayle created a world record by becoming the first batsman ever to score a double hundred (215) in a 50-over World Cup match. He hammered 10 boundaries and 16 sixes.
New Zealand’s opener Martin Guptill later in the tournament broke his record as the Kiwi scored 237 against the West Indies. The two-time world cup champions won the match against Zimbabwe by 73 runs.
5. 50 in 12 Balls in 2016
Chris Gayle equalled Yuvraj Singh’s record by scoring the fastest fifty in T20 cricket in just 12 balls. Batting for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers, Gayle took the stadium by storm. In his short stint at the crease, he plugged seven sixes and just two fours to reach the milestone.
However, even after such an explosive start, Melbourne couldn’t cross the winning line as they fell short by 27 runs.