Magnificent Chris Gayle Stats

As a skinny 19-year-old Christopher Henry Gayle walked out to bat in his debut against India in 1999, little did anyone believe that he would  become the ‘beast’ of the gentleman’s game.For a career that has spanned over a period of 16 years, it only seems to get better for the Jamaican, as he conquered the world with his sheer power and clean striking. A popular figure for cricket fans all over the globe,  here’s a look at some magnificent stats of the ‘big man’ himself.

10. Twin Triple Test Hundreds.

For a batsman so successful in limited overs cricket, test cricket may not  come naturally, but his sheer power, takes him through even  the toughest format of the game. Gayle is the only batsman apart from Sir Don and Sehwag to score 2 triple hundreds in test matches and these magnificent knocks came against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

9. Taking T20 Cricket By Storm

The inaugural ICC World T20 Championship in South Africa was lit up instantly by none other than the big man himself. His 117 off 57 deliveries is the first ever international hundred in the shortest format of the game.The innings was far more than just that. It was due to Gayle’s brilliant knock that the world embraced the ICC T20 World Cup wholeheartedly.

8. Mauling Zimbabwe

Chris Gayle who was by this time an expert in mauling opponents, made the talented  Zimbabwean bowling look ordinary at the Manuka Oval in Canberra in the 2015 ICC Cricket World cup. The duo of Tendai Chatara and Panyangara were a hapless lot as Gayle became the first West Indian and fourth batsman overall to score a double hundred in the ODIs. It was also the first ever in a World cup game.

7. Owning the IPL

Chris Gayle became an Indian household name largely due to his exploits in the IPL for his franchise RCB. He repeatedly tore through the opposition attacks and made the Chinaswamy Stadium at Bengaluru his den. He has a phenomenal IPL record of 3199 runs in 82 games for both his first franchise  KKR and the RCB, including 5 hundreds, the most by any player in the IPL and 18 fifties, most of them match winning. These include a breathtaking 230 sixes in his league career, the most by any player.

6. Highest T20 score

On April 23rd 2013, the ‘Gayle’ force blew away the visiting Pune Warriors outfit at the Chinaswamy stadium. Gayle hammered the fastest and the highest T20 score ever in his scorching 175 off 66 balls. The blistering knock included 13 fours and 17 sixes as members in the crowd literally wore ‘helmets’. Gayle was in a murderous form as he hardly spared any Pune bowler, with Mitchell Marsh and Ashoke Dinda facing the majority of his brunt. The innings reestablished Gayle as the perennial entertainer.

5. Highest Run getters from the Caribbean

Chris Gayle may have a cult following due to his T20 exploits but he is immensely successful in the other two formats as well. He is only the second highest run getter in ODIs from the Caribbean after a certain Brian Lara, and is placed 8th at the test level, ahead of former West Indies captain Rohan Kanhai.

4. Prolific IPL

The Caribbean stars love the IPL. The league somehow brings the best out of these cricketing ‘rockstars’. Chris Gayle happens to be third on the all time run getters in the IPL overall, behind Indian IPL stars Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma.  He has amassed  3199 runs in just 82 games in contrast to Raina and Rohit who have played a far more 132 and 128 games respectively. He also has the second highest strike rate(153.42) in the league only behind Virender Sehwag(155.44).

3. Phenomenal Distinction

Chris Gayle has indeed stamped his authority over the game in general. The Jamaican is the only batsman in the world to have scored a hundred in a T20 international, a double hundred in an ODI and a triple in test matches. Here is a complete cricketer in the modern sense.

2. Handy Bowler

Chris Gayle’s gentle off spin seems a polar opposite of his batting but has been more than effective in the international circuit. With 163 wickets from 269 ODIs and 73 wickets from 103 test matches, Gayle has been a Handy bowler over the years for the West Indies.He also has two five wicket hauls in test matches and a best of 5/46 in the ODIs.

1. King of T20 Cricket

Chris Gayle is the undisputed King of the T20 format, having played a huge role as a cricketer in establishing T20 cricket as the most entertaining format. Playing in almost all T20 leagues across the planet, Gayle has been phenomenally successful in almost all of them. The 16 hundreds across all T20 games stands testimony to this.