On This Day in 2017: Gayle Became the First Player to Breach 10,000-run Mark in T20 Cricket

ON THIS DAY IN 2017: Much before T20s became commonly accepted, West Indies star batter Chris Gayle played ODIs like many play the game’s shortest format today. So, when the T20 format finally got the acceptance of the international cricketing community, it was like a license for the ‘Gayle storm’ to unleash havoc for bowlers more often.

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The format suited Gayle’s aggressive playing style and he quickly climbed to become one of the biggest stars of the T20 universe. And on this day (April 18) in 2017, Gayle did what no other batter had done before.

He became the first-ever batter to score 10,000 runs in the shortest format of the game. Playing in his 285th T20 innings in the match for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions during IPL 2017, Gayle was on the cusp of reaching the 10,000 run milestone. He needed just 3 runs to complete his 10,000 runs and the opportunity came in the fourth over of the match.

After Gujarat, having won the toss invited the RCB to bat first. Gayle walked in to bat with Virat Kohli who took on the bowlers from the very first over.

Gayle on the other end remained calm until the big moment came. The left-hander edged an outside off delivery by Basil Thampi to the third man and collected a single to complete 10,000 runs in T20 format.

A ball later when he got the strike back, Gayle changed his gears and hit Thampi’s low full toss for the maximum.

But that was just the start of the Gayle storm. The left-hander smashed Gujarat bowlers all around the park scoring 77 off just 38 balls before his dismissal. The innings included 5 boundaries and 7 sixes.

Powered by a great start by Gayle and Kohli, RCB went on to put 213 runs on the board and eventually won the match by 19 runs.

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