Chris Gayle produced one of the greatest One-Day International innings of all time on Tuesday, hammering an astonishing 215 against Zimbabwe at the Cricket World Cup in Canberra.
The 35-year-old Jamaica Tallawahs captain became the first player in history to score a double hundred in a World Cup match and reached the milestone from only 138 balls, making it the fastest ODI double ton ever.
After blazing 16 sixes, a joint world record for an ODI innings, and 10 fours, Gayle was eventually out off the last ball of the innings having faced 147 balls, with West Indies reaching 372-2 from their 50 overs.
Gayle then took 2-35 and a fine catch as West Indies bowled Zimbabwe out for 289 to win by 73 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, after a short rain delay during the Zimbabweans' innings.
Marlon Samuels scored a century as he and Gayle put on the highest partnership in ODIs, 372, with Samuels' 133 not out coming off 156 balls.All that happened after Dwayne Smith was out to the second ball of the day!
Here's a breakdown of Gayle's incredible, record-breaking feat:
- First man to score double hundred in the World Cup
- Fourth man to score double hundred in a ODI
- Fastest ODI double hundred in history
- Record partnership in ODIs
- Joint-most sixes in an ODI innings
- Most sixes in a World Cup innings
- First man to score 150+, take 2 wickets and a catch in an ODI
- First man to score 300 in Tests, 200 in ODIs and 100 in T20s
- Fourth on overall list of ODI hundreds with 22
- Second on list of West Indian ODI run-scorers with 9,136
Gayle could not hide his delight after being given the man of the match award by former West Indies star Ian Bishop.
"It was a fantastic day for me," he said. "When you work hard, then you start to see the results. I'm glad I was able to produce the goods today and score my first ODI double century.
"Losing Smith early was a blow, so when Marlon came in we just tried to consolidate. It was a bit slow early on so we tried to make the necessary adjustments.
"Eventually things became easier for us, and then we were able to get this big total. From a team point of view it was a great all-round performance and we're looking forward to the next match against South Africa.
"We have to settle scores against them after they beat us 4-1 recently."
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