In the latest edition of FTX By the Numbers, we look at phenomenal T20 statistics of two West Indies greats.
The six machine
Chris Gayle, the West Indies charismatic batter and the most prolific six-hitter in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history, ended the 2021 tournament with two big hoicks.
Although he hasn’t officially retired, the sendoff from his teammates suggested the two sixes he hit against Australia in Abu Dhabi were the last scoring shots of his T20 World Cup career in which he has smoked 63 sixes, by far the most by anyone and 30 more than the next best Yuvraj Singh (33).
Gayle is also the only batter in the tournament history to hit 10 sixes in an innings, which he did twice – 11 against England in Mumbai in 2016 and 10 against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2007. These are two of the 18 occasions which saw him hit 10 or more sixes in an innings in T20 cricket. No other batter in the world has done it even five times.
The swashbuckling batter also holds the world record for most sixes (1045) in a T20 career. Remarkably, he has hit 100 sixes in a calendar year six times – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017. The only other batter with 100 sixes in a year is his countryman Andre Russell, who achieved this feat once in 2019.
There are no prizes for guessing Gayle also holds the world record for most sixes (18) in an innings, which came in the final of Bangladesh Premier League in 2017. After that he was asked if he considers himself the Bradman of T20s to which he famously replied, “no, I am the greatest of all time.”
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The century-maker
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup started in 2007 with a century from Chris Gayle. In the tournament’s first ever match between West Indies and South Africa at the Wanderers, the left-hander scored 117 off 57 balls and, nine years later, scored one more (100 not out off 48 balls) against England in Mumbai in 2016.
Of 8 batters with a century in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Gayle is the only one who has done it in two games.
Including the two hundreds in the T20 World Cup, Gayle has hit 22 in T20 cricket – 14 more than the next best Aaron Finch, David Warner and Michael Klinger (8 hundreds each).
T20 World Cup runs
Chris Gayle, aka the Universe Boss, has accumulated 965 runs in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket – the second most in the competition’s history and only behind Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (1016 runs). With 143,21 runs, the Calypso batter is also the highest run-getter in the history of 20-over cricket.
Banking on his runs, centuries and sixes, West Indies won two ICC Men’s T20 World Cups. Gayle played a winning role with 222 runs at a strike-rate of 150.00 in the 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka and 113 runs at SR 194.82 in the 2016 edition in India.
West Indies’ best wicket-taker
West Indies all-rounder and two-times T20 World Cup champion Dwayne Bravo called time on his international career. Bravo, who was part of the West Indies team that won the tournament in 2012 and 2016, played his last T20I against Australia in Abu Dhabi.
He finished his career as the highest wicket-taker for West Indies in ICC Men’s T20 World Cups (27 scalps) as well as Men’s T20 Internationals (78 wickets).
Bravo took nine wickets in the T20 World Cup winning campaign in India in 2016, the joint-most for West Indies along with Andre Russell and Samuel Badree.
With 553 wickets under his belt, the 38-year-old is the only bowler in T20 cricket with more than 500 wickets.
The partnership
While Bravo is widely known for his wicket-taking skills, he played a key role with the bat for West Indies in the T20 World Cup Final against England in Kolkata in 2016.
After taking three wickets in the first innings, Bravo had a 75 runs partnership for the fourth wicket with Marlon Samuels and averted a batting collapse as West Indies had lost three wickets for 11 runs chasing a target of 156.
Bravo’s 25 off 27 balls and 75 runs partnership with Samuels provided a launching pad for Carlos Brathwaite, who hit four sixes in the last over.
Bravo has won 16 titles with various teams across all T20 cricket, the most by any player in the world. By winning one for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL this year, he edged past his compatriot Kieron Pollard who has 15 T20 titles.
Bravo is one of the only two West Indians, the other being Gayle, who has featured in all seven editions of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
