NEW DELHI, India, CMC – Talismanic opener Chris Gayle sent his strongest message yet to West Indies selectors yesterday, smashing a whirlwind, unbeaten century for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League to become the first-ever player to cross 700 runs in the multi-million dollar tournament.
The left-handed Gayle, who recently ended a standoff with the West Indies Cricket Board that had ruled him out of selection for the last year, finished with a sublime 128 off 62 balls, an innings that laid the foundation for RCB’s 21-run victory over Delhi Daredevils.
Gayle now has 706 runs and has now slammed a century and four half-centuries in his last seven IPL innings.
Sent in at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, RCB had a tentative start when they lost Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan for 10 with the score on 11 in the third over.
Gayle, however, then wiped out any hopes Delhi had of making further inroads with a ferocious innings.
He belted seven fours and 13 sixes, equaling the most sixes in an innings in the IPL following Brendan McCullum’s effort in the inaugural tournament four years ago.
Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli (73 not out) added 204 for the second wicket, the highest for any wicket this season, to propel Royal Challengers to a massive 215 for one off their 20 overs.
Kohli counted nine fours and one six off 53 balls but reduced to a virtual spectator as Gayle unleashed his rage on Delhi’s bowlers that included fellow West Indies all-rounder and Jamaican Andre Russell.
Gayle, who has made himself available for selection for West Indies’ limited overs phase of the England tour next month, emerged from an uncustomary slow start where he gathered just 10 runs from his first 17 balls before exploding to plunder 90 runs off the next 35 balls.
He found his range in the eighth over, whipping Russell to the square leg fence before depositing him over long-on for a huge six.
In the 14th over from Irfan Pathan that cost 20, he smashed three sixes – the first over long-off and the other two sailing over deep square leg.
Another three sixes followed in 19-year-old left-arm spinner Pawan Negi’s third over that cost 22 runs, as Gayle moved to 99.
A single to extra cover in the next over by pacer Umesh Yadav brought him three figures for the third time in the IPL and he promptly celebrated with two consecutive sixes.
In reply, New Zealander Ross Taylor stroked 55, Venugopal Rao, 36, while Russell got 31 from 15 balls with three sixes and a four, as Delhi made a fight of it with 194 for nine.