It’s not every day that you hear a sportsman acknowledge god and Twitter in the same breath after achieving a landmark. This is what Chris Gayle did after he had just dismembered a hapless Zimbabwean attack and became the first to score a double-century in ODI cricket outside of India. He was the fastest to do so, and the first to go past 188 in a World Cup innings.
Nobody was really surprised when Gayle sank to his knees in the centre of the Manuka Oval with his arms raised aloft. It was inevitable that he would make 200 some day. If anything, one wondered why it had taken him so long. After all, he had casually scored 175 in a T-20 match. It was always just a matter of time before Mr Mayhem joined the ranks of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma.
Incidentally, Tuesday was the fifth anniversary of Tendulkar’s path-breaking knock. If he had boldly gone where no other batsman had dared to in 50 overs, Rohit boldly went where no batsman had even dreamed of with his 264 — only four months ago.
The scales have been tipped too far in the batsman’s favour, maybe irreparably. Yes, Gayle’s was the most destructive of the five double-hundreds. Like with all Gayle blitzkriegs, it was also thrill-a-minute. But somehow, the novelty of the ODI double, if not fading, might just be losing its sheen.
