New Delhi, February 24 – Chris Gayle blazed his way through into the World Cup record books by slamming a 147-ball 215, which included 16 sixes, 10 fours and record stand of 372 runs with Marlon Samuels (133*) to lift West Indies to 372 for 2 against Zimbabwe in a Pool B match.
Gayle was under immense pressure to perform and had not scored a ODI hundred since June 2013. However, he should consider himself lucky to get a reprieve when he survived an lbw appeal on the first ball he faced in the match.
After that there was no stopping Gayle and scored 16 sixes which equalled the record for most in an ODI innings, and he surpassed Gary Kirsten’s 188 against the United Arab Emirates in 1996 as the highest score in a World Cup innings before he was caught out on the last ball of the innings. Gayle’s partnership with Samuels of 372 runs also was an ODI record.
For the first time the 200-mark has been crossed in a World Cup and earlier three other batsmen have scored double tons in ODIs – all of them being Indians.Sachin Tendulkar was the first to score an unbeaten 200 against South Africa in 2010 in Gwalior. Then Virender Sehwag smashed 219 against West Indies.
However, India’s current Indian opener Rohit Sharma has two two double hundreds to his name – 209 against Australia in 2013, 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014. Rohit’s 264 is the highest individual score by a batsman in one-dayers.
-INDIA TODAY
