Cricket, undoubtedly, has a massive fan base across the globe. Though it was first played in England, upon gaining popularity, it became one of the most admired sports in countries like Australia, India, South Africa, and the West Indies. Thus, with the expansion of cricket, its followers grew, and so did the fans’ love for their respective players. West Indies bowlers of the 1970s and 1980s, for instance, became popular for delivering fatal bouncers. Brian Lara, MD Marshall, CA Walsh, Chris Gayle, and Clive Lloyd are some of the best Caribbean players. But, here I will mention the top 10 records made by Chris Gayle, widely regarded as “The Universe Boss” in the cricket world.
1. Most Capped Player Of West Indies
Chris Gayle, holds the record of being the most capped West Indies player in international matches. He has played more international cricket than any other West Indies player. He achieved this record during the 2019 ICC World Cup while playing against Afghanistan. In his next game, against India, he played his 300th ODI match, the only West Indies player to do so.
2. First To Score A Double Hundred In Icc World Cup
During the 2015, ICC World Cup match against Zimbabwe, Chris Gayle smashed 215 runs off 147 balls, which included 16 sixes, in Canberra. He, thus, became the first player ever to score a double century in the history of the ICC World Cup. This double century by Gayle led to the emergence of a famous meme, “If Sachin is the God of Cricket, then Gayle is the Godzilla”.
3. Highest Individual Score in IPL
The Indian Premier League, one of the widely popular T20 leagues, has produced multiple cricket stars who are admired for their brilliant bowling figures or batting skills. Chris Gayle, for example, is known for creating the highest individual score by a batsman in the IPL. In 2013, while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he made 175 runs off 66 balls, which included 17 sixes, against Pune Warriors, thereby helping RCB in a mammoth total of 263 runs at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
4. Joint Record Of Fastest 50
Chris Gayle, holds the record of creating the fastest 50 off 12 balls in a T20 match. It came against the Adelaide Strikers, while he was playing for Melbourne Renegades, during the 2016 BBL. However, he shares this record with other players- Yuvraj Singh and Hazratullah Zazai.
5. Triplet Centuries
Chris Gayle was the first player to score a triple century in a test match, a double century in an ODI match, and a century in a T20 match. Hence, he was the first player to hit centuries across all three cricket formats.
6. Second Highest Individual Score In T20
In terms of topping the list of highest individual scores in the T20 World Cup, Chris Gayle comes in the second position after hitting 117 runs v/s South Africa during the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Apart from this, Gayle has scored more than 14,000 runs in T20 cricket.
7. Orange Cap holder
In IPL, the batsman who has scored the highest number of runs in that season, receives the orange cap. In 2012, Chris Gayle received this cap for scoring a total of 733 runs.
8. Hit First Ball For A Six In A Test Match
Chris Gayle is the first and only batsman to date to hit the first ball of an over in a test match for a six. It happened during the West Indies tour of Bangladesh from 13-17 November 2012. Sohag Gazi, a Bangladeshi bowler, who also made his debut in that match, was the one to bowl the first over.
9. First To Hit 6 Fours.
“The Universe Boss,” prominent for his killer batting skills and for smashing constant boundaries, became the first player to hit six fours in an over of a test match. He is, to date, the only player to do so. He smashed six consecutive fours in 2004 against Matthew Hoggard, an English bowler, at The Oval.
10. Most 6’s In International Cricket
Interestingly, it was Christopher Henry Gayle, who created the record of hitting the maximum sixes in international cricket, across all three formats. He has hit 553 sixes, the most by any player in the world.
