Destructive West Indies batsman Chris Gayle on Monday equalled Yuvraj Singh's Twenty20 world record after hitting a 12-ball 50 for Melbourne Renegades in a Big Bash League match against Adelaide Strikers
Melbourne: West Indian maverick all-rounder Chris Gayle has smashed the joint-fastest 50 in the history of Twenty20 cricket, taking just 12 balls to reach the mark during a whirlwind knock for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers in a Big Bash League (BBL) tournament here on Monday.
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Here's the video of the innings:
Displaying his immense prowess as a T20 specialist yet again, Gayle hit as many as seven sixes and two fours during his blistering knock. He was finally dismissed for 56, which came off just 17 deliveries, with a phenomenal strike-rate of 329.41.
Set a target of 171 runs from 16 overs, Renegades' Gayle simply exploded, hitting four successive sixes in the first over of the innings from youngster Greg West.
The assault continued in the third over, Gayle taking 22 from Ben Laughlin to take himself to 44 from 11 deliveries.
He still needed a six to equal the world record for the fastest T20 fifty, set by Yuvraj Singh at the 2007 T20 World Cup against England in Durban - a knock that included six sixes in an over from pacer Stuart Broad. Gayle matched Yuvraj's record with a six off spinner Travis Head. The left-hander was out shortly after.
Chris Gayle acknowledges the crowd after reaching his 50
The 36-year-old opening batsman's knock also smashed the Big Bash record for the fastest fifty from 18 balls, which was jointly held by Tim Ludeman and Chris Lynn in the 2014-15 season.
Gayle also holds the record for the fastest Twenty20 hundred and fastest double century in the ODIs.
The Jamaican batsman had taken just 30 balls to reach his T20 century during an Indian Premier League match in 2013 while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
His double ton came off 138 balls against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup.
But Gayle's bombarding effort was still not enough for his team to win, as they lost by 27 runs, folding for 143 in 15.3 overs. Renegades were supposed to chase down the target in less than 16 overs to improve their net run rate and qualify for the semi-finals of Big Bash. But they failed to do so and were crashed out of the league.