There are batsmen and then there are pinch-hitters and then there is Chris Gayle. One the most destructive batsmen in the world of cricket, Chris Gayle has always been regarded as pinch hitter, rather than a proper batsman. But a pinch hitter can never score 9,000 runs in One Day Internationals. Gayle is a proper batsman.
Fourth batsman to score a double hundred
Gayle became the fourth batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs. He became the first left-handed batsman to score 200 runs in One Day Internationals. The 35-year-old smashed World Cup’s first double hundred. His double hundred is also the fastest one ever made. He scored his double hundred in just 138 balls. The previous fastest double hundred was scored by Virender Sehwag. He had achieved this feat in 140 balls.
Playing the second fiddle to Gayle’s innings was Marlon Samuels. In doing so he scored his highest ODI score of 133 runs.
Chirs Gayle’s innings was a typical one where he has gone to make a lot of runs. This inning showed the world that how patience Chris Gayle is. Out of the total of 147 balls that Gayle had faced, there were 59 dot balls. He scored his first boundary in the 11th over. So slow was the West Indies inning in the initial phase that after 20 overs they had just scored a paltry 96 runs for a loss of one wicket. Even at the start of the 40th over, West Indies were 203 for 1. His ability to hit boundaries at will is something which every bowler is afraid of and the rival captains are jealous off.
Gayle had a few lucky escapes in this innings. Right in the first over when smith was out, there was an lbw appeal, which was turned down by the umpire.
Records Broken
This inning also made sure that a number of records were broken. First and foremost, Gayle has now scored the highest individual score in a World Cup tournament. He scored 215 runs. The previous best individual score in a World Cup was by Gary Kirsten which was 188. It was scored against UAE. Gayle is now the third highest run scorer in an ODI match. He comes right after Rohit Sharma’s 264 and Virender Sehwag’s 219. He is also the first non-Indian to score a double century. He also became the first batsmen to score 175 or more runs in all the formats of the game, i.e, T20 format, Test Format and ODIs.
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