Gayle first player to smash 500 sixes in international cricket

West Indies opener Chris Gayle has continued with his sensational form with the bat as he smashed another hundred in the ongoing five-match one day international series against England at home. Chris Gayle has so far hit 135, 50 and 162 in three innings against England in the series.

Chris Gayle blasted 162 off just 97 balls against England in the fourth ODI at the National Cricket Stadium in St George’s, Grenada. But his blazing knock was not enough as West Indies fell short of England’s total of 418 for 6 by 29 runs.

Gayle hit 14 sixes and 11 fours during his monstrous knock and that helped him become the first batsman ever to smash 500 or more sixes in international cricket.

The maximums also helped Gayle take his tally of sixes past the 300 mark in ODIs, making him only the second cricketer to smash 300 or more sixes in the 50-overs format after Shahid Afridi, who leads the list with 351 sixes.

Gayle now has 506 sixes in international cricket (98 in Tests, 305 in ODIs and 103 in T20Is).

Gayle also breached the 10 000-run mark in ODIs and becomes only the second West Indian after Brian Lara (10 405 runs) to achieve the milestone.

Gayle (10 074 runs) became the 14th cricketer to achieve the feat after Sachin Tendulkar (18 426), Kumar Sangakkara (14 234), Ricky Ponting (13 704), Sanath Jayasuriya (13 430), Mahela Jayawardene (12 650), Inzamam-ul-Haq (11 739), Jacques Kallis (11 579), Sourav Ganguly (11 363), Rahul Dravid (10 889), Virat Kohli (10 533), MS Dhoni (10 415), Lara (10 405) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (10 290).

Earlier in the match, England’s middle-order batsman Jos Buttler hit a career-best 150 studded with 12 sixes and 13 fours. Buttler became the first batsman from England to hit 12 sixes in an innings in ODIs.

Spectators were left ducking for cover as the two teams piled up a world record 46 sixes in St George’s; 24 by England and 22 by West Indies.

England’s total surpassed the 23 hit by West Indies in the first game last week, while the combined tally bettered the 38 sixes hit by India and Australia in Bengaluru in 2013.

The victory gave England a 2-1 lead in the series, which lost a game when rain washed out Monday’s third match in Grenada.

The fifth and final match of the series will be played on Saturday in St Lucia, before the two teams face-off in a three-match Twenty20 International series. — India Today