5 of Chris Gayle's best knocks against India in ODIs and T20Is

Christopher Henry Gayle has been an indispensable element of the West Indies team and has pulverised bowlers over the years with his unflinching and swashbuckling style of play. While he has shown his class against all teams, he preferred the Indian bowling attack very much as is evident by the numbers.

Against India, Gayle has played 37 One Day Internationals in which he scored 1241 runs at an average of 33.54 with four hundreds to his name. In the T20 format against India, Gayle has 140 runs in his kitty at an average of 39.75.

As we move along, we take you through five of his best knocks in ODIs and T20Is over the years, playing against the Indian cricket team.

#5 140 runs, Ahmedabad, 2002

Chris Gayle is known for his unflinching style of batting and can be tormenting for bowlers on his day. In the second One-Day International between India and West Indies in Ahmedabad back in 2002, the hulking left-handed batsman blazed away to an innings of 140 runs from just 127 balls.

During his knock, he went from strength to strength as the Indian bowlers kept on disappearing all around the park. No Indian bowler was able to stem the run flow as Chris Gayle spanked them to pile runs at will.

He was pretty severe on Ashish Nehra as quite a few times he muscled him down the ground with sheer disdain. When he was dismissed in the 40^th over by Virender Sehwag, a solid platform had been set for West Indies for a blistering end as they ended up at 324.

Windies, however, failed to defend the target as Rahul Dravid’s unbeaten century coupled with a brisk 57 from Sanjay Bangar helped India reach the target with 14 balls to spare.

#4 123 runs, Kingston, 2006

Gayle helped the Windies get past 250 in the 45-over game

It was India’s first One-Day International against the West Indies when they toured the Caribbean in 2006. And Chris Gayle gave them a rude welcome as he set the series alive by blazing away to a score of 123 runs from 130 balls that included 18 boundaries and two humongous sixes.

While every other batsman struggled to get going, Gayle held one end up to shepherd the Caribbeans along. In the rain-hit game, he helped West Indies set up a challenging target of 252 in 45 overs.

He peppered the leg side boundary with much fervour, especially the long-on boundary where he scored 26 runs. His strike rate wasn’t extravagant, but he scored briskly enough to keep the scoreboard ticking as he blended caution with aggression.

#3 103 runs, Nagpur, 2002

Chris Gayle helped West Indies go two-up after a convincing win at Nagpur in the series

India, courtesy V.V.S Laxman’s innings of 99 from 110 balls, had posted a total of 279 for the loss of nine wickets in the rain-affected second One Day International of West Indies’ tour of India in 2002. Chasing 280 runs was a difficult ask against a skilled Indian bowling attack, but West Indies an in-form Chris Gayle in the ranks.

He was there at the crease till the 39^th over and ensured that West Indies traced down the target without many hiccups. The Jamaican went to rack up a calm and composed, yet a fiery knock of 103 runs from 116 runs.

Clearing the ropes is bread and butter for the Caribbean opener and on this occasion, he muscled three of them against Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar.

#2 101 runs, Vadodara, 2002

Chris Gayle was in terrific form in the 2002 ODI series

After four riveting encounters between India and West Indies in the 2002 ODI series, the teams were locked at 2-2. Carl Hooper won the toss and elected to field first in the fifth ODI after which the Indian batsmen went on to smash the West Indies’ bowlers to a total of 290 runs in 50 overs.

Nevertheless, the Windies had a fitting reply as the men with the willow took India’s bowlers to the cleaners to chase down the target with seven balls to spare and take a 3-2 lead in the One-Day International series. This was yet another time, Chris Gayle scored a superlative century from 107 balls to win the game for West Indies.

The left-hander shouldered West Indies till the 40^th over to make sure that his team don’t stutter at the finishing line. The Windies, against all odds, would go on to win the series 4-3.

#1 98 runs, Bridgetown, 2010

Chris Gayle was in his element in Bridgetown

It was the 19^th match of the ICC World T20 in 2010 being hosted by West Indies with India and the hosts locking horns in Group F. The game turned out to a close contest as both the teams strained every muscle to get the better of each other.

However, it was West Indies who came out trumps as they beat India by 14 runs. Chris Gayle, yet again, proved why he was deemed to be an integral part of the team. He went hammer and tongs to score 98 runs from 66 balls.

The innings was garnished by six colossal blows over the ropes and five boundaries. To Gayle’s dismay, he was caught short of his crease and was run out on the brink of his second T20 International century.