IPL history: Top 3 knocks by Chris Gayle 

Chris Gayle is one of the first names that come to mind when we talk about T20 cricket. The big West Indian is by a distance the highest run-getter in the history of T20s.

There are very few records that Gayle hasn’t broken in the shortest format, and a lot of the records have come in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Over the years, with the way he’s played, he has become an IPL phenomenon.

He started off with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first three seasons but didn’t have a great run there. He went unsold in the 2011 auctions but an injury to Dirk Nannes opened the door for him. That injury to Nannes changed the way the world looked at Gayle.

He was drafted in as a replacement in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side and he kicked things off with a superb ton against his former team (KKR). He never looked back from there, and had a strong relationship with the Bangalore-franchise for seven years.

Gayle scored over 3000 runs for RCB at an average in excess of 43 which included five hundreds. The big Jamaican won the Orange Cap twice and was one of the shining lights for RCB throughout his tenure.

However, poor form in the 2016 and 2017 seasons meant RCB didn’t retain him and he was bought by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at his base price of 2 crore. He had a decent season with them, scoring 368 runs which included 3 fifties and a hundred.

With IPL 2019 coming up, now is as good a time as any to look back at some of his best knocks in the history of the tournament. Here are three of the many fabulous knocks the ‘Universe Boss’ has played in the IPL.

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#3 104* (Kings XI Punjab) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – 2018

Chris Gayle celebrating his century

In 2016 and 2017, Gayle had the two worst IPL seasons of his career. He had averaged under 25 in a season only once in his IPL career (2014) before, but in these two seasons collectively he managed just 447 runs in 19 innings. Hence, RCB decided to let him go.

In the 2018 auctions, Gayle went unsold twice before he was finally picked up by KXIP in the last round. He didn’t play the first couple of games, but announced himself in style as he blasted a 33-ball 63 in his first game of the season.

It was the next game that showed just how high Gayle could soar. He struck a fabulous unbeaten 104 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were labelled as the best bowling side of the season.

Gayle struck 11 sixes en-route to his sixth IPL century. In fact, he took every SRH bowler to the cleaners and Rashid Khan, in particular, got a massive beating. Rashid has been one of the best T20 bowlers for a while now and is currently the No. 1 T20I bowler in the ICC rankings, but Gayle smashed him for 41 runs in 16 balls.

After two very quiet seasons, Gayle had silenced his critics in style. His unbeaten 104 helped KXIP win the game by 15 runs.

#2 96 (Royal Challengers Bangalore) vs Kolkata Knight Riders – 2015

Chris Gayle playing against his former team KKR

When the 2015 IPL started, Gayle was fresh off an ODI double century. Just a month prior, he had scored a scintillating 215 against Zimbabwe in a World Cup game.

Moreover, Gayle liked playing against his former franchise KKR, almost invariably scoring big against them. In 2015, RCB’s opening game was against KKR and the Jamaican star gave his team everything they had asked for. He scored 96 in a tough run-chase to give RCB a winning start.

After being put into bat, KKR put up 177 in their 20 overs. Chasing almost 9 runs per over, the Virat Kohli-led side didn’t have the best of starts. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals despite a strong start by Gayle.

AB de Villiers tried upping the ante but perished after scoring a 13-ball 28. Despite losing partners regularly, Gayle kept going at the other end. He single-handedly kept RCB in the hunt and was dismissed when the team needed 8 off the last 10 deliveries.

Gayle missed out on a well-deserved ton but he had ensured RCB reached the finish line. His 56-ball knock which included 7 fours and 7 sixes earned him the player of the match award.

#1 175* (Royal Challengers Bangalore) vs Pune Warriors India – 2013

Chris Gayle celebrating his supernatural innings

This is a knock that will be etched in the memory of cricket fans forever. It was a day when records were battered, bruised and shattered by a certain Christopher Henry Gayle.

The Jamaican opener smashed a mind-boggling, jaw-dropping 175 that broke the back of the opposition bowlers. 175 is often higher than an entire team's total, but that was Gayle’s individual score at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

In that game against Pune Warriors India, Gayle went berserk. After a quiet first over, he smashed every bowler to all parts of the Chinnaswamy Stadium as he raised his half-century in a mere 17 deliveries.

He continued on his merry way, smashing sixes for fun and 13 balls later, he had notched up the fastest-ever T20 century. There was no stopping Gayle that day, as he continued to smash sixes, records and the PWI bowlers.

He racked up a staggering 175 (in 66 balls), hitting 13 fours and 17 sixes, which helped RCB reach a mammoth 263 in their 20 overs. In reply, Pune fell short by a massive margin. In fact, they couldn’t even come close to Gayle’s 175, as they were reduced to 133.

This 175 could well go down as the best knock in the history of T20 cricket!