West Indies vs England: Chris Gayle breaks Shahid Afridi’s long-standing record in Barbados

Gayle’s 135-run innings included 12 towering sixes and he now takes the top spot in the list of most sixes scored across formats.

Windies hard-hitter Chris Gayle rewrote history books as he blazed away to his 24th ODI ton against England in the first ODI in Barbados on Wednesday. Although Gayle’s heroics went in vain as England registered a record win in the series opener, the southpaw set multiple records in his 129-ball innings.

Chris Gayle (R) of West Indies celebrates his century during the 1st ODI between West Indies and England at Kensington Oval (AFP)

Gayle’s 135-run innings included 12 towering sixes and he now takes the top spot in the list of most sixes scored across formats. Gayle has 477 sixes to his name now and he eclipsed former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi’s record of 476 sixes on the international arena.

Playing his first ODI since the home series against Bangladesh last July and having announced that the upcoming World Cup will be his international farewell in the format, the hard-hitting Windies star also helped set a new world record. His tally of maximums (12) dominated an innings in which 23 sixes were struck, a new record for an ODI innings.

Also, Gayle became the first cricketer in the world to score 10+ sixes in an innings on three difference occasions. Gayle was earlier tied with former South Africa cricketer AB De Villiers and India vice-captain Rohit Sharma with two each.

Despite his heroics, England registered a comfortable six-wicket victory with their record one-day international run chase in a high-scoring opening game of a five-match series.

Set what looked a daunting target after Gayle’s 24th ODI hundred anchored the home side to 360-8, Jason Roy blazed 123 off 85 balls at the top of the order while Joe Root cruised to a comparatively sedate 102 off 97 deliveries to take help the tourists reach their target with eight balls to spare.

In achieving the highest-ever ODI run chase in the Caribbean and the third-highest overall, England underlined their status as the top-ranked team in this format of the game and will be brimful of batting confidence heading into the second match at the same venue on Friday.