Records broken by Chris Gayle against England in their World T20 opener
Chris Gayle slammed a T20I century off just 47 balls in West Indies’ 2016 World T20 opener against England at the Wankhede on Wednesday. During the knock, Gayle hit the third-fastest T20I century and a slew of other records that was previously held by Brendon McCullum.Needing 183 to win, Gayle opened the batting along with Johnson Charles, who got out for a duck but that did little to hamper the onslaught that was to follow. After a slow start, the West Indian opener got going and England were left powerless to stop him running away with the game.Gayle’s 100* included 5 fours and 11 sixes and ended as the third-most sixes in a T20I innings by any batsman.Here are some of the records that Gayle broke:
#5 Most T20I centuries
It was Chris Gayle, who opened the T20I floodgates when he scored a century in the first World T20 match against South Africa. He did it again on Wednesday, when he smashed another T20I century, thereby equalling Brendon McCullum's record of most centuries in the format.
He got to his century off 47 balls, only just missing out on the record for the fastest T20I century by two balls. Still he can be content with the fact that he now holds the record for most centuries in World T20.
This was his 17th century overall in T20s and including the one against England, he scored eight of those tons in 50 balls or less. In between his two international hundreds, which were spread over 9 years, he hit 15 centuries across various domestic T20 tournaments around the world.
His record of 17 T20 centuries itself is staggering when you consider that the next best is Brendon McCullum, who has just 7 centuries, 10 fewer than Gayle.