Chris Gayle’s T20 hundred goes down in vain
Chris Gayle’s innings:
On 11 September, Chris Gayle of Jamaica Tallawahs pulled off a remarkable inning by scoring 116 on just 62 balls against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. Chris Gayle struck 7 fours and smashed 10 sixes out of the ground as Jamaica Tallawahs put on 241/4 on the scoreboard at the end of the innings, the highest total ever recorded in the Caribbean Premier League’s history.
Chris Gayle faced Fabian Allen in the first over of the game where he struck 2 huge sixes and a four on his first four balls. In the second over Chris Gayle faced Alzarri Joseph and the Tallawahs brought 26 runs to the scoreboard after just 2 overs of the game.
The Patriots’ tried their best to calm the raging Chris Gayle with their pacers for seven overs in a row but Tallawahs once again broke through their chains as Walton came to face the leg-spinner Usama Mir.
After losing his opening partner Glenn Phillips for just 8 runs in the 4th over of the game, Chris Gayle outstandingly struck a record-breaking 162 run stand with his partner Chadwick Walton who smashed 72 off 36 balls with 3 fours and 8 outstanding sixes – The highest ever partnership for any wicket in the CPL’s history.
The Tallawahs hit a total of 11 fours and smacked 21 sixes over the boundary as they scored 241 at the cost of 4 wickets for the 4th highest T20 total of all time.
The remarkable chase, Chris Gayle’s hundred in vain:
The huge mountain of a total of 241/4 was quite beautifully surpassed by the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots as they smashed 242/6 off just 18.5 overs with 7 balls to spare.
It was all made possible with the brilliant efforts of Evin Lewis who struck 6 sixes out of the ground to reach his fifty in just 17 balls. Evin Lewis scored 53 runs on 18 balls before he returned to the dressing room. After Evin Lewis, Devon Thomas played his role to the utmost capacity in the highest ever run chase of CPL by scoring 71 runs off 40 balls by hitting 8 fours and 3 sixes. Laurie Evans and Shamarh Brooks also contributed while Fabian Allen gave the finishing touch to the Patriots’ victory with his 37 off 15 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes.
The Patriots did not look too good when Oshane Thomas took 3 wickets in the 14th over of the game but Fabian Allen took back the momentum from the Tallawahs with his sensible batting and smart decisions.
The records piled up by Chris Gayle and the others:
The match saw several records being tumbled as Chris Gayle scored his 22nd T20 century, the most by any batsman in the T20 format with Micheal Klinger being the second one with 8 T20 hundred. The 162 run partnership between Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton is also the highest ever partnership for any wicket in the history of the Caribbean Premier League. The score of 241/4 by Jamaica Tallawahs is also the highest ever total in the history of CPL. The successful run chase of 242/6 is the second-highest ever in the history of T20 second only to Australia’s 245/5 against Newzealand in Auckland the previous year. The game also had a record total of 37 sixes hit between the two teams, the most in any T20. The game between Jamaica Tallawahs and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots also saw a total of 483 runs scored over the course of just 38.5 overs.
At the end of a long day, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots stood victorious by bringing Jamaica Tallawahs to their knees by winning their first game of this year’s Caribbean premier league.
