Pune massacred as Gayle hits unbeaten 175 off 66

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Pune Warriors were literally blown away by ‘Gayle’-force winds. A target of 264 runs can be chased in a one-day match. But if it’s a Twenty20, perish the thought. Similarly, scoring 175 runs in a T20 innings by an individual also seems impossible, but Chris Gayle did so and did it with an unmistakable brilliance, leaving the audience awestruck.

[caption id="attachment_653" align="alignright" width="223"] Chris Gayle set a series of records: T20’s fastest century, most runs by an individual in an innings and most sixes in an innings (Photo: BCCI)[/caption]

This is not mere the story of Gayle shattering opponent’s dreams, but with this story added a new chapter in the cricket’s book. In the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors, the merciless, aggressive and a giant of a man Gayle gave such a beating to Pune’s bowlers that even imagination of it is enough to send shivers down the spine of any great bowler of the game. The 175-run innings off 66 balls studded with 17 sky-high sixes and 13 fours played by the left-hander body and soul literally took the souls away from opponents' bodies.

The tall batsman did not spare any bowler of Pune during his nightmarish innings. Long-on, mid-wicket, extra-cover, in short, there was no corner of the ground where the ball – actually balls – did not visited after being smashed by Gayle’s  thundering bat. Umpires had grown weary of demanding new balls. And the bowlers were trying their best to salvage their reputations. But Gayle seemed to have decided to make the opponents bite the dust.

Gayle wrote many a history with his stunning 175. His century on just 30 balls is the fastest in any format of the game. The record was earlier held by Yousuf Pathan, who scored a hundred off 37 deliveries for Rajasthan Royals in the 2009 IPL. Gayle also played the biggest IPL innings by an individual. His 17 sixes were also the most hit by an individual in a T20 innings. He also helped Bangalore hit most sixes, 21, in a T20 match. The total of 263 is also the highest amassed by any team in the format.

Gayle’s bashing also left Pune’s batsmen dumbfounded and they surrendered in front of the Himalayan target by Bangalore. Gayle had scared them so much with the bat that they gave away two wickets to the left-hander before being crushed by a hefty 130-run defeat.

It might be the first match in the cricket’s history that only a single player completely dominated the game from the very outset to the end. Yes, one thing did rein in Gayle’s remorseless innings – the 33-minute rain.