THIS was a more restricted innings than the swashbuckling brand of cricket that we are accustomed to from the big man, but Chris Gayle carried his bat in another influential innings as the Jamaica Tallawahs captain scored his second half-century on his second Caribbean island in two days in a compelling match at Warner Park in Basseterre on Tuesday. (Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 164 for 3 (Gayle 72*, Lynn 52) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 160 for 5 (Guptill 53, Samuels 50, Santokie 4-37) by seven wickets
Helped by a knock of pure ferocity by Chris Lynn – who struck three consecutive sixes in a score of 52 from 33 balls – Gayle struck a boundary to crown victory for the away side with five balls remaining.
In truth, Gayle should not have been at the crease at the very end after blasting a Shahid Afridi delivery sky-high when on 49, but the chance was dropped and the self-styled World Boss didn’t need a second invitation to plunder further runs.
Warner Park is an intimate stadium with short boundaries, but this was a match in which both teams struggled to score freely as the bowlers exerted themselves.
The best of them was Krishmar Santokie, who was dispatched for 10 runs in the opening over but struck back to claim four wickets as he became the joint-highest wicket-taker of this year’s tournament.
But this is a match that will be better known for the feats of his illustrious team-mate at the top of the batting order.
This was not the free and easy Gayle that willingly causes destruction to opposition teams, but even a slightly more scratchily knock still resulted in a six that blasted out of the ground and fired a total of 106 metres – the biggest in this year’s competition.
Gayle now has 11 sixes and 171 runs in the tournament so far – more than any other player.