OTD| Chris Gayle became the first batter to score a double hundred in ODI World Cup

On This Day Chris Gayle became the first batter to score a double hundred in the ODI World Cup. Chris Gayle is arguably the most destructive batter world cricket has ever seen. When on song, he could annihilate the best of the bowling attacks. On this day, he played a special knock as he scored a double-century against Zimbabwe in a World Cup match in 2015 becoming the first batter to score a double-hundred in a World Cup. 

No mercy from the ‘Universe Boss’

West Indies and Zimbabwe met in a group-stage match at the 2015 World Cup in Canberra. It was an important fixture for both sides and Chris Gayle took his game a notch up on the right occasion. Winning the toss, West Indies opted to put runs on the board for Zimbabwe to chase in the second innings. However, the 2-time world champions had a horrible start to their batting stint. Zimbabwe dismissed the opener Dwayne Smith on the second ball of the innings to give a major setback to the West Indies. Pacer Tinashe Panyangara uprooted the stumps to cut short Dwayne Smith’s stay. 

But this initial blow did not prove to be a menace for West Indies as the experienced duo of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels stabilized the ship. Even after an early breakthrough, this pair did not slow down the rate of run-scoring. Gayle played the role of an aggressor and took the opposition bowlers to the cleaners. 

In the process, the left-handed opener completed his double century and scripted history by becoming the first ever to do so in a World Cup. His extraordinary batting effort coupled with Marlon Samuels’ century took West Indies to a massive total of 372 runs. Eventually, West Indies won the match by 73 runs (D/L method) and earned valuable points. Chris Gayle was awarded the player of the match for his 215 runs in the first innings that ensured a convincing total for West Indies in the first innings.