CHRIS Gayle revealed a request to entertain from Sulieman Benn served as the motivation for his extraordinary 47-ball hundred as West Indies eased to a six-wicket win over England in the World Twenty20.Having been set 183 to win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Gayle produced another masterful batting display, smashing 11 sixes en route to the fastest hundred in World T20 history.
Gayle’s effort saw him surpass Brendon McCullum’s record of 91 sixes in T20 internationals by taking his tally to 98 as the Windies wrapped up the victory with 11 balls to spare.
“The preparation has been really good, and this was a good wicket to bat on, chasing a decent total,” Gayle said.
“It was a fantastic innings and I’m really happy to have finished the game, I didn’t leave it for anyone.
“Sulieman Benn said to me I had to go out and entertain him, that gave me that spark as well – I need to entertain my team-mate and he’s my drinking partner as well.
“It was always good to bat second. A target of 183 we always had a chance of chasing that down. We didn’t panic. Now we’re on to the next one, Sri Lanka in Bangalore, my home town [in the Indian Premier League], I’m looking forward to that.”
Explaining his exuberant celebration upon reaching three figures, Gayle added: “The celebration is all about DJ [Dwayne] Bravo’s song ‘Champion’.
“That is going to be our anthem at the World Cup, we have to keep pressing that. We built the song together, we got to dance together as well.”
Captain Darren Sammy was quick to laud Gayle’s stunning showing, telling Sky Sports: “It’s always a joy to watch Chris Gayle – the universe boss, as he renamed himself from world boss. He’s an incredible player, it was great to watch in the dugout.
“I thought England batted well but we were happy to chase down 182. We thought at one time we would be chasing 220, but they never really accelerated.”(Omnisport)