The Indian Premier League has had a remarkable history of smashing and building records. The domestic cricket league has seen 15 critically and financially successful editions. With thousands of players playing from India as well as different countries together in the same teams, the IPL brings incredible combinations of cricket styles together.
Among all this, there has been a batsman who has broken all possible records to create a one-of-a-kind record to make the fastest century while taking the lowest number of deliveries.
This fastest century is scored by none other than the West Indian batsman, Chris Gayle. Let’s have a look at the insights of the match when the stadium was stricken by the Gayle Storm.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors India, 31st Match of 2013
The 31st match of the 6th season of the Indian Premier League witnessed a World-class inning of Chris Gayle. The inning was unbeatable and seemed to be left out of the syllabus for the bowlers of Pune Warriors India to bowl out the West Indies batsman.
The match began with Pune Warriors India inviting Royal Challengers Bangalore to bat first. Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan walked to the crease of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
After just 1.2 overs, rain played spoilsport. It seemed like Gayle walked back to the field with some other plans. The opening duo made 50 runs in just 4.5 overs, while Chris brought up his half-century in just 17 balls. Dilshan played the perfect non-striker while giving Chris the strike for his power-hitting.
Chris built a tiny partnership with Virat Kohli, as the latter departed with just 11 runs after being run out by Ashok Dinda. Chris made the fastest century in the History of the IPL and took just 30 deliveries to make the ton. He smashed eight fours and eleven sixes to achieve the ton.
The Caribbean cricket star didn’t stop at a century and was hungry to put more runs on the board. He scored another half-century. Having played 53 deliveries, he had scored 150 runs after hitting eleven fours and sixteen sixes.
AB de Villiers played a cameo inning like Gayle and put 31 runs on the board while taking just 8 deliveries. By this time on the field, the fielders were left to be spectators as the ball was reaching the boundaries in seconds.
Christopher Henry Gayle is known to deal in massive boundaries and less in running-between-the-wickets. Throughout his innings of 175* runs (in 66 deliveries), he smashed 13 fours and 17 sixes with a whopping strike rate of 265.15.
Gayle didn’t limit his abilities with just the bat. He showcased his abilities with the ball as well, as he bowled one over and ended it with 1-0-5-2 as his figure. Royal Challengers Bangalore gave the target of 264 runs and easily won the game by 130 runs.
Special Mention – Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, 2nd match of IPL 2010
The second fastest century in the history of the IPL came from the Indian batsman Yusuf Pathan. While chasing the target of 213 runs against Mumbai Indians in the year 2010, Rajasthan Royals sent Yusuf to bat at number 5.
When the other batsmen of the team failed to put runs on the board, Pathan decided to outshine others. He quickly put 100 runs on the board while taking just 37 deliveries with a strike rate of 270.27. Yusuf hit nine fours and eight sixes during his knock.
Unfortunately, his crucial knock went in vain as Mumbai Indians still managed to win the match, but he built an innings that is remembered even after 12 years of the tournament.
Conclusion
Christopher Henry Gayle is one of the most respectable cricket players in the world. He has world-class batting skills and part-time bowling abilities. This inning is a world record for the fastest century in not just IPL but across all the tournaments in the shortest format.
The record of the third fastest century in the history of the IPL stands in the name of the South African batsman David Miller. David achieved his century in just 38 deliveries while batting against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 6th edition of the tournament. Even after a decade, Chris, Yusuf, and David are an inspiration to young batsmen to build new and smash previous records.
FAQs
1. Who has the record for the fourth fastest century in the IPL?
The record for the fourth fastest century in the IPL stands in the name of Adam Gilchrist. He scored 108* runs in the first edition of the IPL.
2. How many deliveries did Chris Gayle take to make 175 runs?
Chris Gayle scored 175 runs in just 66 deliveries against Pune Warriors India.
3. Has Chris Gayle retired from cricket?
Chris Gayle hasn’t officially announced his retirement from cricket and is still available to play if given a chance.
4. How many sixes has Chris Gayle hit in the IPL?
Chris has played IPL since its commencement. He has hit 357 sixes in the tournament over the years.
