Christchurch:West Indies opener Chris Gayle hit the first double century in World Cup history in their Pool B victory over Zimbabwe at Canberra. In the match between West Indies and Zimbabwe, West Indies batsman Chris Gayle had break down the bowling order of Zimbabwe and smashed 215 runs in just 147 balls. With the smashing batting of Gayle, West Indies had given the target of 372 runs to Zimbabwe. To achieve the big target, Marlon Samuels had supported Gayle and individually scores 133 not out in 156.
Sachin Tendulkar broke that barrier on February 24, 2010 in Gwalior against South Africa. On Monday, Chris Gayle became the fourth batsman after Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma (twice) to join that coveted list.
It was also only the fifth double century in all one-day internationals and the first by a non-Indian, with Rohit Sharma (two), Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag the only other batsmen to achieve the feat. The stand of 372 with Marlon Samuels – after Dwayne Smith had departed for a second-ball duck – was also a record partnership for any ODI wicket, surpassing the 331 shared by India’s Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999.
Gayle’s knock was almost ended by the very first ball he faced but the on-field umpire turned down Tinashe Panyangara’s lbw appeal and, despite a review showing the ball would have clipped the top of the bails, the original decision stood. He went on to reach his 22nd one-day century from 105 balls before blasting his second hundred in only 33 deliveries.
From the final ball of the innings Gayle top-edged a catch high to midwicket. Samuels finished unbeaten on 133 from 156 balls as West Indies amassed 372-2 from their 50 overs. After a short rain delay, Gayle then took two wickets with his part-time off-spin and a catch as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 289. The Windies won by 73 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Gayle’s effort was all the more remarkable given his recent struggles. In the 19 innings since his last hundred in June 2013 he had scored 274 runs at an average of 14.42. Two days ago, Dave Cameron, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, reignited a row with players by retweeting a fan’s tweet calling for Gayle to be dropped. Cameron later removed the post and tweeted an apology.
Bureau Report
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