Chris Gayle is called Universe Boss for a reason. He is the highest run-getter in the history of T20 cricket and nobody has more centuries than his tally of 21 in this format. He has dominated T20 leagues with his explosive batting all across the world and the Indian T20 League is no exception to that.
So, without further adieu, let's take a look at three of his most memorable batting performances in the Indian T20 League.
175* vs Pune (Bengaluru | 2013)
There's no stopping Chris Gayle when he is on song and Pune found themselves on the receiving end on one of those days in 2013. It was a home match for Bangalore. Although Pune won the toss, their skipper Aaron Finch opted to field first, and this proved devastating for the visitors.
Gayle went berserk from the very first delivery he faced in the innings and made his way to a mammoth score of an unbeaten 175 off just 66 deliveries. Bangalore posted a massive total of 263/5 as a result of Gayle's innings which consisted of a record 17 sixes and 13 fours. Pune, in response, could only manage 133/9 and Bangalore won the match by 130 runs.
128* vs Delhi (Delhi | 2012)
This was Gayle's highest Indian T20 League score before he bettered it with his knock of 175* the following year. Delhi faced the wrath of the Jamaican this time.
Although Bangalore lost Tillakaratne Dilshan quite early in the innings, there was no stopping them once Virat Kohli joined Gayle at the crease. The Universe Boss forged an unbeaten 204-run stand with Kohli and himself remained unbeaten on a score of 128 off just 62 deliveries. His innings consisted of 13 sixes this time and seven fours on top of that.
Bangalore posted a total of 215/1 in their quota of overs. Delhi tried hard to chase the target down but fell short of it by 21 runs.
104* vs Hyderabad (Mohali | 2018)
This is Gayle's most recent Indian T20 League century. It came in a league game against Hyderabad at Mohali in 2018. Gayle, playing for Punjab this time, stood like a rock at one end and kept smashing the Hyderabad bowlers all around the park. He kept batting till the very end of their innings and ended with a score of 104* to his name off just 63 deliveries.
Although he managed only one boundary, he more than made up for it with 11 humungous sixes! The next best score in Punjab's innings was 31 by Karun Nair and that explains the enormity of Gayle's knock, as it propelled them to a total of 194/3. The Sunrisers batted well in response but still fell short of the target by 16 runs.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Manan Vatsyayana
