OTD| Chris Gayle scored first-ever century in the shortest format of the game in 2007 

On this day, 16 years ago, West Indies star batter Chris Gayle scored his first ever century in the shortest format of the game against South Africa during the T20I World Cup’s initial tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2007. Notably, the left-handed batter racked up 117 runs, which is still considered his best score in the T20I format. In addition, the top-order batter had appeared in 79 matches while accumulating 1899 runs in the shortest format of the game. The great all-rounder has 42 hundreds to his name in his international career.

Meanwhile, despite an emphatic century, his side lost the game against South Africa in the first game of Group A on September 11, 2007. On that day, South Africa skipper Graeme Smith won the toss and invited visitors to bat first. Notably, after being put to bat first, the West Indies side posted a huge total of 205/6 runs in the given 20 overs. Notably, top-order batter Chris Gayle’s 117 runs came with just 57 balls that featured seven boundaries and ten sixes with a strike rate of over 200 to give a flying start to his team. Following him, Devon Smith racked up 35 runs, which helped them post the massive total against the host of the tournament.

Later, while chasing, South Africa also got a terrific start as star batters Herschelle Gibs and Justin Kemp scored 90 and 46, respectively, which helped the Proteas chase down the target with 14 balls to spare while registering an 8-wicket win during the first match in Group A. Meanwhile, the home team was also not able to keep this winning momentum for long, as the inaugural edition was won by Team India under the captaincy of legendary cricketer MS Dhoni.

Chris Gayle has been known as one of the greatest and most destructive batsmen in cricket’s history. The legendary cricketer played an imperative role during the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cups and helped his side win the tournament.