As big as it gets

13 match sixes,700 season runs,third IPL ton Gayle raises bar,keeps challenge alive

It is perhaps only when he runs does Chris Gayle look ungainly. He is quick to spot a tight single but his legs don8217;t propel him fast enough and the fielder thinks he is always in with a chance. Then again, Gayle8217;s methods do not depend too much on running.

On Thursday at the Ferozeshah Kotla,only 22 of his runs came in ones and twos. Another 106 or a staggering 83 per cent of his runs were scored in fours and sixes,the most runs made by hitting the ball to the boundary or over in an innings in this edition of the IPL. All his three centuries in the IPL,including the unbeaten 128 off 62 balls against Delhi Daredevils,have been made at a strike rate of over at least 185.

It is not just the ability in hitting the most exciting shot in cricket the six but also his consistency in doing so that is truly amazing. Gayle smashed 13 sixes on Thursday. His tally of sixes in the IPL is now 127 and he is the only batsman to hit over 100 of them in this tournament.

Runaway leader

The closest if indeed it can be called closest any batsman has got to matching Gayle8217;s feat of sending the ball beyond the ropes is the 91 by Suresh Raina in 75 innings. Gayle has batted just 41 times.

In spite of being in prime form this season 57 of his 127 sixes have come this year along with seven half-centuries Gayle was rather subdued at the start. After Tillakaratne Dilshan had fallen cheaply,Virat Kohli,in at one-drop,had raced ahead of the opener. Kohli was on 23 off 16 as RCB crossed the 50-run mark while Gayle had made 15 off 19. There was no sign of the power-hitting that was to follow as Umesh Yadav even bowled a maiden to the southpaw early on.

In a must-win match,Gayle8217;s intentions were clear. He was not taking any risks early on and would play as much in the V as possible. Gayle8217;s first six of the evening was over long-on to the pitched up delivery from West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell. His next shot over the ropes sailed over long-on,off part-time spinner Venugopal Rao. He then lofted left-arm spinner Pawan Negi over mid-wicket and in the next ball,fell back on his strategy of playing straight,smashing it towards the sightscreen.

Gayle8217;s change in approach was distinguishable in the tale of the break-up his hundred. His 50 came off 37 balls and contained more fours 6 than sixes 3. His second fifty needed just 16 balls and contained six sixes and just one boundary.

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The change of gears happened in his 60s. In the third ball of the 14th over he hit Pathan over long-on and then brought out his brutal pull. Two consecutive sixes off Pathan,the first of those the longest in the tournament travelled 111 metres,marked the start of a harrowing time for the bowlers. Shortly,Negi was hit for three consecutive sixes,and in the next over Umesh Yadav was carted into the stands at extra-cover and deep-mid wicket. Gayle found five more big hits,the last of which resulted in a yorker length ball from Aaron being slashed over backward point.

Gayle clutched his left shoulder in discomfort after hitting his 13th six of the day. What seemed like effortless hitting was starting to take its toll even on the big man.

By then though Bangalore had made 215,a total which the Daredevils fell short by 21 runs inspite of some lusty six-hitting from Ross Taylor,Rao and Russell.