Jesus,Chris!

Gayle smashes fastest ton 30 balls on his way to highest-ever T20 score

At the beginning of the 18th over of Bangalores innings,Chris Gayle was unbeaten on 166. Teams look to have their best batsman on strike through the death overs,but even if Gayle were to face just half the remaining deliveries,he would have six balls to make the 34 runs that would get him to the first double hundred in T20 history.

That would require Gayle to hit almost a six of each delivery he faced from there on,but it was not as impossible a task as it seemed. After all,he had struck 16 sixes until then and Gayle has already done it before in the IPL. He had smashed Prashant Parameshwaran for 37 runs in one over which included a no ball against Kochi Tuskers Kerala two years ago,and in 2010,Ravi Bopara was the one to suffer,going for 33 in one over. More pertinently,he had come close to doing it on the day,not once,but twice. In the fifth over of the innings,he had hit Mitchell Marsh for 28 runs. An over after the power play restrictions had been lifted if that mattered at all,he had taken Aaron Finch for 28 runs again,off just five deliveries.

So it was entirely within the realms of possibility that Gayle would get to 200,if only he could be on strike long enough.

As it happened,Gayle would get to face the bowling for just five legal deliveries from there on. After getting a single of the first ball of Marshs over,the 18th of the innings,he would watch AB de Villiers use up four successive deliveries. The South African was hitting them hard and long too,striking a boundary and two sixes before holing out. But each delivery that Gayle spent at the non-strikers end decreased the probability of the double. However,after crossing over during the fall of the wicket,Gayle took a single to retain strike for the final over of the innings.

It was now 33 needed of six. Through the match,RCBs score would only take secondary precedence to Gayles. The side had made more than 250 by then,but there was always only one score,one target that was going to be of any importance.

Gayle hit Dinda for a six of the first ball of the final over. Twenty seven needed of five deliveries now. The second ball,a short delivery from Dinda,triggered a rare sight,a mistimed shot from Gayle. Just a single. Saurabh Tiwary then scampered a two and Gayle was stuck at the non-strikers end again. Tiwary was out next ball,miscuing to long off,and though Gayle had crossed over,there was not going to be enough time. Eventually,Gayle would finish unbeaten on 175 of 66 balls.

The Don of T20

Twenty five runs may appear a big margin,especially in T20 cricket. It is roughly the equivalent of missing a milestone by 62.5 runs in ODIs. But then again,by the same measure,Gayle would have ended on 437.5 runs had he carried on in the same vein for 50 overs. Even without taking recourse to extrapolations,Gayles figures have come to define the format. He averages 44.78 in T20s which is incidentally higher than both his Test or ODI averages at a strike rate of 153.68. In comparison,Michael Hussey averages 41.13 but at a more sedate s/r of 124.19,Brad Hodge 36.46 at 129.17 and MS Dhoni 34 at 131.36. For his current franchise,Gayles figures are even more staggering. In 41 games for RCB,Gayle averages 65.48 at 171.16 per 100 balls.

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The final over though,was not to prove a complete disappointment for Gayle if one can still be disappointed after smashing all manner of batting records in the format. During Punes chase,a largely notional effort,Gayle came on to bowl the last over,his first of the season. He ended up with two wickets for five runs,the best bowling figures of the match. Pune finished their innings 42 runs short of Gayles score.