Gayle storm sets the pace

First ball of the tournament from Shaun Pollock8212;and Chris Gayle sends it through point for a boundary.

First ball of the tournament from Shaun Pollock8212;and Chris Gayle sends it through point for a boundary. And then the DJ comes alive. Perfect opening to the Twenty20 World Cup, and an apt follow-up to the short and cute opening ceremony that had it all8212;an emotional speech about the spirit and culture of the country, a captivating performance that got the crowd involved, and of course the colourful 8216;rocket launchers8217; that set the fireworks from ten points at the ground.

There was a lot of noise, but the dazzle of the fireworks was somewhat lost in the late evening sun. But later, the fireworks that came off Gayle8217;s bat was spectacular. And that show also lasted much longer.

He became the first centurion in the Twenty20 format and also set a new record in the number of sixes he hit8212;11 in all8212;overtaking Ricky Ponting in both departments. He scored 117, helping West Indies post the record highest ever total of 205 against South Africa. He also got a record opening partnership of 145 with Devon Smith.

Today he had it all, grabbing as much attention as strike. He got the fastest 50 too. But most strikingly, he played 24 deliveries without scoring.

Gayle played a lot of those one-leg-in-the-air tandav shots towards mid-wicket. All of them hit the fence, and some cleared it. Renowned for his gutsy hitting, Gayle went after anything offered short, onto his legs or pitched up.

He hit Pollock over mid-wicket fence, walloped Makhaya Ntini for two successive sixes, one longer than the other, in his second over to start the run-feast. Mornie Morkel and Van der Wath also faced his wrath when they came in as next changes. And Gayle cantered to his 50 off just 26 balls, just three balls outside the world mark of Sanath Jayasuriya for the fastest 50: three fours and four sixes.

Giving one of the finest displays of Twenty20 style hitting, Gayle had his slice of luck too. One mistimed shot flew over third-man, past a jumping Pollock and Morkel8217;s frustration was for all to see.

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That 8216;life8217; made him more audacious. He hit Morkel out of the ground and then gave a flat one over long-on to welcome to Graeme Smith, who brought himself on to try and make an impact, but to no avail. The field placings did not really matter when Gayle batted. But South Africa did manage to get some sanity back towards the end by catching everything that came their way. And after Gayle8217;s exit, West Indies did stutter a bit in the last four overs.

Meanwhile, Pollock8217;s second spell meant two more sixes, with the first one clearing ten rows and the other landing on the top end of the hill. And somewhere in the story of Gayle and South African desperation was Devon Smith, with a record opening partnership of 145. His contribution to that was only 35.

Gayle kept the pressure on8212;to and beyond his century. But like all good things, his innings too came to an end, caught by wicketkeeper Boucher off van dar Wath, while trying another of those square-leg hits.

As Gayle went back, raising his bat after a superb 117 off 57 balls, with seven fours and 11 sixes, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

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They came in hordes, with South African flags and the stadium was a sea of green jerseys. But they did enjoy Gayle8217;s knock even though it was their country that was getting battered. That8217;s the spirit of Twenty20. It8217;s all for the crowd. Gayle has shown the way. And Twenty20 rocks.

THE THIRD GENERATION GAME

The new rules, as the world saw them implemented

DURATION

The teams virtually ran through the 20 overs quota. No wonder, because six runs are deducted for each over not bowled in the scheduled time.

Time per over

One hour 15 minutes to bowl 20 overs. In the first innings, the calculation of the number of overs to be bowled was based on one over for every 3.75 minutes of the total time available for play up to the scheduled close of play. In the second innings: Overs reduced at a rate of one over for every full 3.75 minutes lost.

Free hit

Devon Smith, facing Morne Morkel. Morkel overstepped and it was a no-ball. Next ball was a 8216;free-hit8217; for Smith, but he missed. First free hit of World Cup remains unutilised. As per rules Smith was free to do anything with the ball, without getting out except being run out.

Number of overs per bowler

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Each bowler has four overs per bowler. That showed on a panting Shaun Pollock8217;s left face as he rushed through his quota.

Short-pitched balls

As in other one-day competitions, one short-pitched ball is allowed per over. In the second innings, Graeme Smith was hit on the hand buy a suddenly rising delivery of Darren Powell. Not a bouncer, though. Looks like the only way bowlers can get back at batsmen in this format.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies: Gayle c Boucher b van der Wath 17, Smith c Boucher b Philander 35, Samuels c de Villiers b Pollock 6, Chanderpaul c Boucher b van der Wath 11, Smith c Gibbs b M Morkel 1, Sarwan c de Villiers b Philander 12, Ramdin not out 6, Bravo not out 0

Extras lb4, w12, nb1: 17;

Total for 6 wkts,20 overs: 205

Fall of wickets: 1-145,2-152, 3-178, 4-182,5-188,6-204

Bowling: Pollock 4-0-52-1, Ntini 2-0-19-0, van der Wath 4-0-33-2, M Morkel 4-0-30-1, Philander 4-0-35-2, JA Morkel 1-0-16-0, Smith 1-0-16-0.