Chris Gayle is one of the most popular cricketers going around in the world of cricket. The Universal Boss is loved by one and all for the kind of entertainment he provides with his brand of batting. But, much to the disappointment of his fans, he recently announced that he will retire from One-Day International cricket after the 2019 ICC World Cup.
Today, let’s take a look at some of his finest knocks with the bat in ODIs, where his career has spanned over two decades:
215 vs Zimbabwe
The aggressive West Indies batsman, Chris Gayle smacked Zimbabwe brutally en route to 215 runs in 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Canberra. It was a historic double-ton as he became the first batsman in World Cup history to touch 200-run mark. Gayle’s 138-ball 215 powered Windies to a colossal total of 371 runs. The dashing left-hander took 105 balls to reach his century but after that, the Zimbabwe team faced absolute mayhem at the hands of the Jamaican batsman, who joined the elite list of batsmen with 200s in 50-overs cricket.
133* vs South Africa
Chris Gayle had an excellent time with the bat in the 2006 ICC Champions trophy that took place in India. The West Indies batsman ended with 474 runs in the event, the most by any batsman and was also adjudged the Man-of-the-Series. His best knock came in the semi-final game against South Africa, where he scored 133* runs to take his team past the victory line and into the finale of the tourney. Gayle had hammered 17 boundaries and three sixes in this match-winning knock.
140 vs India
The 2002 India v West Indies ODI series was the best-ever for Chris Gayle in any bilateral series in terms of runs. Gayle smoked 455 runs in seven ODIs at an average of 65 and strike-rate of 95 with the help of three centuries against India. But his best century of the series came in Ahmedabad when he scored 140 runs off 127 deliveries. Gayle had gone on an absolute rampage in the knock and hit 12 fours and five sixes. Unfortunately, for him, the team couldn’t win the game.
135 vs New Zealand
In 2009 Napier ODI against New Zealand, Chris Gayle, who was captaining West Indies was at his absolute best. He played a 129-ball 135-run knock to set the hosts a total of 294 runs. But the Duckworth–Lewis method went in favor of the Black Caps and they won the game by nine runs. Despite being on the losing side, Gayle has adjudged the Player of the Match for magnificent innings, which included nine fours and five sixes.
152*vs South Africa
In 2004 Wanderers ODI between South Africa and West Indies, the crowd emerged as the real winner as they first witnessed an absolute masterclass from the bat of the Windies destructor, Chrisy Gayle and then their side winning game. The Jamaican southpaw scored 152* runs off 153 balls to help Windies reach 304 runs batting first. But the hosts won the game by four wickets with two balls to spare on back Kallis’ brilliant century.
