Watch: After Gayle's 'Virat Kohli kept blocking for my 100' remark, video of the incident takes internet by storm
Chris Gayle on Tuesday recalled Virat Kohli's stunning gesture for him during The Universe Boss' maiden season with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Chris Gayle on Tuesday recalled Virat Kohli's stunning gesture for him during The Universe Boss' maiden season with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Gayle joined RCB in the year 2011 and immediately made with mark with a whirlwind century. Incidentally, Gayle hit the first of his six IPL centuries against his former team, Kolkata Knight Riders, but found himself in a quandary. Gayle was batting on 98, when RCB needed just 2 to win and Virat Kohli was on strike. Kohli, then just 22, could have scored the winning runs but he deliberately played out the entire over to ensure Gayle for to his three-figure mark. It has been 12 years since Kohli's heart-touching gesture but Gayle remembers it as if it was just yesterday.
"I remember Virat Kohli kept blocking a few balls when I was on 98 in the first match, he did so I could get to my first IPL hundred," Gayle said in a chat with former RCB teammate AB de Villiers in an episode of IPL Bold Diaries.
Soon after Gayle's statement wen viral, a user on Twitter uploaded a video of the over which Kohli blocked. The clip doesn't capture the entire over, and it starts with RCB needing 2 to win off 14 balls. The third last over of the innings was being bowled by Iqbal Abdullah and when the left-arm spinner bowled a wide to bring the equation down to just 1 for win, Kohli wasn't pleased. The batter blocked the final ball of the over, bringing Gayle back on strike and the left-handed batter bludgeoned a four off Shakib Al Hasan to complete his century and take his team over the line.
Watch the video below:
The century came at a critical stage in Gayle's IPL career. The first two seasons ended in a whimper for Gayle with 171 and 292 runs respectively for KKR. He was also dropped from the West Indies team and the future looked bleak. Thankfully, RCB trusted in him as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes and injected a fresh lease of life in Gayle's career. Gayle's stunning exploits with RCB – which saw him score 3163 runs across seven seasons – made him the franchise's most impact player and the rest, as they say, is history.
"At the time I wasn't selected for West Indies and didn't get picked in the IPL as well. There was a lot of talks going around at that time so when I got that call, and they asked 'Chris, are you available?' I said 'Yes I am'. I was at the night club at the time when I get a call, 'Chris, go to the embassy tomorrow, pick up the visa and be on your way'. And when I arrived, the energy, the vibe and the buzz was pretty much there from the start," Gayle added.