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One of the first cricketers who comes to mind when the word 'T20' is mentioned is Chris Gayle. The man from Jamaica started his career in late 90s but found his calling with the arrival of T20 cricket.
He was the first man to breach the 10,000 runs mark in the format and could be called a pioneer of the T20 game. He has 13,770 runs in T20 games at an average of 38.67. Combine this with a strike-rate of 146.53, and Chris Gayle becomes one of the most destructive batsmen to have ever played the game.
In the IPL, the Jamaican star has amassed 4822 runs at an average of nearly 41, going at a strike rate of 150. This makes Chris Gayle an important player for his franchise, Punjab Kings, even at the age of 41.
Chris Gayle is known to have put the opposition bowling to the sword in several IPL games. He has a good record against Delhi Capitals too.
In the previous season, Chris Gayle helped the Punjab Kings get off to a powerful start against Delhi Capitals. His 29 off 13 ensured that Punjab got off to a flier and maintained a manageable run-rate in the chase. Courtesy of the big Jamaican's efforts, Punjab Kings won the game by 5 wickets.
Chris Gayle has enjoyed batting against the Delhi franchise in the previous editions of the IPL, and here we take a look at some of his best knocks.
Note: Delhi Daredevils were later re-branded as the Delhi Capitals.
Chris Gayle's 3 best knocks against Delhi
1. 40 off 21 at Kolkata, IPL 2010
Chris Gayle was earlier a part of Kolkata Knight Riders that took on the Delhi Daredevils in a group stage match. His effort, filled with five fours and two sixes, helped KKR reach 94 in very quick time. The early blitzkrieg set the tone for their batting and helped them to a total of 181. Chris Gayle went after Amit Mishra, Farvez Maharoof and Pradeep Sangwan in his belligerent knock.
The KKR bowlers, led by Ashok Dinda and Ajantha Mendis, were able to pick wickets at crucial junctures of the match. Delhi, who were 99/1 at one point in the game, still went on to lose the game by 14 runs.
2. 69 off 37 at Delhi, IPL 2019
Playing for the Punjab Kings, Chris Gayle opened the batting along with KL Rahul. Punjab were put into bat by Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer. Chris Gayle took little time to settle as he took 11 runs off Ishant Sharma's second over.
In the very next over, he smashed the talented Nepalese leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane for four boundaries. His night of fury continued as he slammed three sixes off Delhi veteran Amit Mishra.
Chris Gayle was eventually dismissed while trying to attack Lamichhane, courtesy of a relay catch between Axar Patel and Colin Ingram. Unfortunately for the Punjab Kings, none of their batsmen were able to match the destructive ability of the Universe Boss as they finished with just 163 on the board.
3. 128 off 62 at Delhi, IPL 2012
Chris Gayle's best knock against Delhi came during IPL 2012, in a game in which RCB faced off against Mahela Jayawardena's Delhi Daredevils. Tillakaratne Dilshan was removed for just 10, and RCB were under pressure after the loss of an early wicket.
Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli were forced to steady the innings, and what transpired was just an exhibition of big-hitting from the Jamaican opener. The left-hander slammed seven fours and 13 sixes in a knock that blew the wind out of Delhi's sails.
In the second half of the innings, he unleashed his true magic. Among his best hits were three sixes off an Irfan Pathan over, a hat-trick of sixes against Pawan Negi and back-to-back sixes against Umesh Yadav.
RCB finished with 215/1 at the end of their innings with both Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle unbeaten. The Delhi batting unit tried their best but couldn't overhaul the total.
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