Windies hard-hitter Chris Gayle slammed his 25th ODI ton and entered the record books during the team’s 29 runs defeat at the hands of England in the fourth ODI at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada.
Gayle slammed a huge six to bring up his 55-ball century and with that he also became the first batsman in the history of the sport to slam 500 international sixes. During the course of his 162-run innings, Gayle slammed 14 towering sixes to etch his name in history.
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Gayle took his tally to 305 ODI sixes and he became the second cricketer after Pakistani great Shahid Afridi who slammed 351 maximums in his illustrious career.
With the help of his latest innings, Gayle also joined some legendary batsmen in a rather exclusive club. The southpaw became only the 14th cricketer to cross the 10,000-run mark in ODIs and is only the second batsman from his country to achieve this feat (Brian Lara - 10,405).
Despite Gayle’s heroics, Windies fell short by some distance in the end, courtesy of a four-wicket haul from Adil Rashid. Responding to the tourists’ mammoth total of 418 for six, the highest ever in an ODI in the Caribbean, the home side were set on course by a rampaging 162 off 97 balls by Gayle.
{{/usCountry}}Despite Gayle’s heroics, Windies fell short by some distance in the end, courtesy of a four-wicket haul from Adil Rashid. Responding to the tourists’ mammoth total of 418 for six, the highest ever in an ODI in the Caribbean, the home side were set on course by a rampaging 162 off 97 balls by Gayle.
{{/usCountry}}They remained in the hunt until the 48th over when leg-spinner Rashid, who had taken a fearful hammering in his first four overs, broke an 88-run seventh-wicket partnership between Carlos Brathwaite and Ashley Nurse.
He then scythed through the tail -- taking the last three wickets in the next four balls -- to finish with figures of five for 85 off his allotted ten overs.
West Indies’ total of 389 was their highest-ever in ODIs but it will be of little consolation given the final capitulation which saw the last four wickets falling at the same score to leave England with an unbeatable 2-1 lead going into the final fixture of the five-match series on Saturday in St Lucia.
((With agency inputs))