New Delhi: West Indies opener Chris Gayle is not just a strong hitter but a phenomenon on the cricket field. His hard-hitting knocks and big boundaries are enough to unnerve the rival team. Bowlers developing a cold feat against ‘Gayle storm’ on field was a common occurrence when the Caribbean player was at the helm. Gayle has an excellent track record of hitting big knocks in the IPL tournament. As the cricketer turns 42 today, here is a quick look at his spectacular batting displays. Gayle has notched up 14,261 runs in T20 matches all around the globe. Today, he will take to field for 447th T20 match as Punjab Kings take on Rajasthan Royals in IPL match in Dubai. Gayle’s grand knocks in memorable IPL matches In IPL alone, Gayle has accumulated 4950 runs in about 140 matches. With a strike rate of 149.45, the cricketer has 6 centuries and 31 fifties in his kitty. IPL 2013: 175 not out (66) vs Pune Warriors In the 2013 edition of IPL, Gayle hammered an unbeaten 175 runs off just 66 balls against Pune Warriors. The ‘Universe Boss’ as he is called, pulverised the Pune bowling attack and hit his highest individual score in the history of IPL. Year 2015: 151 not out (62) vs Kent Gayle, playing for Somerset, yet again dwarfed the big total set by Kent and single-handedly set the course of game. Kent piled up a huge total of 227 runs but Gayle made it look like a cakewalk. Hammering 151 off 62 balls, he made the run chase an easy target. Year 2017: 146 (69) vs Dhaka Dynamites This was another momentous match for the powerful batsman as he went on pummelling the bowlers and scored big total of 146 runs in mere 69 balls. Gayle single-handedly helped Rangpur Riders put a big total on scoreboard and helped lift their maiden Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) trophy by defeating Dhaka Dynamites in the final match. In this match, Gayle broke his own record, smashing 18 sixes and thus surpassing his previous record of 17 sixes against Pune Warriors. 2007 T 20 World Cup: 117 (57) vs South Africa In the very first match of the ICC T20 World Cup, Gayle scored his maiden T20 century against South Africa. With 7 boundaries, he scored 117 runs in 57 deliveries and helped West Indies put up a modest total of 205/6. Though, his knock went in vain as Herschelle Gibbs and Justin Kemp helped Proteas chase down 206 runs in 17.4 overs. 2015: 90 (41) vs South Africa This match between South African and West Indies was etched in memory as Caribbeans made the biggest ever run chase in the shortest formats of the game. This was made possible by Gayle scoring 90 off 41 balls. Proteas scored 231/7 with Faf du Plessis hitting maiden T20 ton but when West Indies came for batting, Gayle let his willow go wild and brought a storm that couldn’t be tamed by the Proteas.
