3 Chris Gayle records that might never be broken in T20s
Former Royal Challengers Bangalore star Chris Gayle turned 44 today (September 21). Gayle is yet to retire officially from T20 cricket, but has stayed away from the major leagues for quite some time now. His last IPL appearance came in the 2021 season for the Punjab Kings.
Chris Gayle was famous for his ability to hit big sixes. He came into the limelight during the IPL 2011 season when he scored over 600 runs after joining Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. Gayle continued to find his top form in the league and ended up scoring close to 5,000 runs in his IPL career.
Gayle achieved a lot of success while playing for the West Indies team as well. The left-handed batter scored 19,593 runs across all formats of international cricket. He scored a total of 42 hundreds and 105 half-centuries in his international career, besides scalping 260 wickets with his right-arm off-spin.
On Chris Gayle's 44th birthday, here's a look at the top three T20 records of the Universe Boss which might never be broken.
#1 Chris Gayle has the highest individual score in T20 cricket
Gayle was at his peak during the first three seasons of his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He scored heaps of runs for the franchise from 2011 to 2013. During the 2013 season, Gayle destroyed the Pune Warriors bowling attack by playing an incredible knock of 175 runs from just 66 deliveries.
Opening the innings for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gayle showed aggressive intent right from ball number one. He took only 30 balls to complete his hundred. Eventually, he ended up scoring 175 off 66, hitting a total of 13 fours and 17 sixes.
#2 Chris Gayle has the highest sixes in T20 World Cup matches
Gayle scored a century in the first-ever T20 World Cup match played between West Indies and South Africa in 2007. He ended his international career with two T20 World Cup trophies. The Universe Boss enjoyed playing in the shortest format of the game at the grand stage.
He hit a total of 63 sixes while playing for the West Indies in the T20 World Cup tournaments. No other batter has even hit 40 sixes. The second name on the list is Rohit Sharma, who has 35 maximums to his name. It is highly unlikely that Gayle's record of 63 sixes will ever be broken.
#3 Chris Gayle has the fastest 100 in T20 format
As mentioned earlier, Gayle needed only 30 balls to reach the three-figure mark in the IPL 2013 league-stage match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors. Ten years have passed since that match, but Gayle's record of scoring a 30-ball 100 still stands.
Rishabh Pant came close to breaking the record in 2018 while playing for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh. However, he ended up taking 32 balls to complete his ton. Even if a batter plays at a strike rate of 300, he will not reach 100 in 30 balls, which highlights the insane form Gayle was in back in 2013.