Chris Gayle‘s innings during West Indies’ match against Australia at the Cricket World Cup 2019 lasted only 17 deliveries but was packed with entertainment.
The 39-year-old put up a brisk 21 runs in a knock that was extremely eventful for a variety of reasons including his feat of reaching a thousand World Cup runs.
Gayle was nearly caught out on two occasions while his short innings featured three reviews, winning two of them and retaining all three.
There were also a few classic strikes to marvel at while his knock was brought to an end rather controversially.
NEARLY CAUGHT TWICE
In the third over, Gayle attempted to cut a short and wide delivery from Mitchell Starc and his shot just about evades Marcus Stoinis who was still able to intercept it and prevent any runs.
Two balls later, a short of a length ball takes off and catches the Windies batsman by surprise. He hangs out his bat and the ball catches an edge but goes over the keeper for four.
THE REVIEWS
The very next ball after he edged for four, the Aussies appeal for a caught behind and the umpire’s finger goes up. There was a definite noise but Gayle reviews the call immediately. He seemed confident of his decision and rightly so. Replays showed that the ball actually grazed off-stump on its way to Alex Carey.
Then, with the final ball of an insane over from Starc, Gayle was rapped on the pads and again the umpire adjudged him to be out. The batsman once more showed no hesitation asking for a review which revealed that the ball was straying down leg.
In Starc’s next over though, he finally got the prized scalp he was after. He caught him lbw and Gayle wasn’t certain this time, consulting with the non-striker before going upstairs for a third time. It was close and Windies retained their review but the umpire’s call stood and the dangerous hitter was sent back to the pavilion.
Chris Gayle's innings today:
— ICC (@ICC) June 6, 2019
4️⃣ blasted boundaries
3️⃣ times given out
2️⃣ overturned
1️⃣ ball hits the stumps but the bails stay on
And...
1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ @cricketworldcup runs completed
All in 17 deliveries work for the Universe Boss! pic.twitter.com/dOLOONa4GL
BIG SHOTS AND MILESTONE
After an over of two reviews and close-calls for Gayle, he went after by striking three fours and picking up a double in his four deliveries he faced.
In the process, Gayle also managed to surpass one thousand World Cup runs and is the only active batsman to have reached the milestone.
UNJUST DISMISSAL
There was nothing wrong with the ball that ultimately saw Starc dismiss Gayle but nonetheless it was a delivery that shouldn’t have counted.
It was later revealed that the ball before the dismissal was an illegal one with Starc massively overstepping his mark. As such, it should’ve been deemed a no-ball with the delivery that Gayle fell victim to becoming a free-hit.
Now we are talking! The ball that @henrygayle got out should have been a free-hit ball.
— FlashScore Cricket Commentators (@FlashCric) June 6, 2019
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