10,000 runs first
Terming himself the ‘king’, the explosive Jamaican says he will be his own man in this format
If Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Brian
Lara all redefined the way Tests and ODIS were played, Chris Gayle with his explosive hits will leave his mark on T20 cricket.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore opener is 63 runs short of becoming the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. The Jamaican has almost all the records a batsman would like to hold in T20 --- most centuries (18) half-centuries (60), sixes (732) and fours (759) in 286 matches.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Gayle, who is in Bangalore to promote Drinkiq, an online tool for Diageo’s responsible drinking campaign, spoke about his staggering T20 numbers, how he would like to be branded in T20 and why RCB skipper Virat Kohli’s captaincy is infectious.
Excerpts: That will be incredible. It would be an achievement. It’s not easy. So many guys have done it in international cricket with over 10,000 runs in Test and ODIS. I will be the first to score 10,000 runs in T20s. I backed myself and will keep pressing down to see how many more runs I can add on. Not really. I mean no one knew when T20 cricket started. As it grew, as individual and within the sport, you learn more, set out to do different things. You start to exploit it and when it works for you then you get creative as well. And then you do what works for your game.
I am known for big-hitting, but since the T20s came in, my God, it has changed the entire script of cricket, which is fantastic. As an individual, it has made a lot of changes as well (to batting). I am thankful for it. Hopefully, I still have more efforts left within me to break more records and just keep entertaining. (Laughs). I am the Chris Gayle of cricket, the king, the universal boss of T20 cricket, if you want to put it that way or however people want to brand it. I will be my own man in T20 cricket. Anything is possible. Any batsman who is in good form gets a good start and is in the momentum, it is definitely achievable. So, never say never. His aggression. We missed that a couple of years ago. He has taken it into international cricket and now he is the Indian captain. His aggression, passion... those things and the guys feed off his energy as well. That’s what is required as a captain to standout. It (loss in the IPL final) certainly won’t affect us. When you look at the scenario (the team was in) and to pull through to reach the final, it was a great achievement. We were disappointed not to win, but we were also thankful to make it to the final. We are up against the same team (Sunrisers Hyderabad) in the opening match, so we can get our revenge and go one-up. IPL is No 1. That goes without saying. I am sure everyone will second or third it that the IPL is the No 1 league in the world. There are other competitive leagues as well but IPL stands out not only because of the big pay cheque but all international guys get a chance to play against each other and where every team have a chance to win. Everybody wants entertainment and that’s why we are here for.
SINDHU SIZZLES
China Open champion, Sindhu will face second seeded Korean Sung Ji Hyun in the semifinals on Saturday. Sindhu has a 6-4 record against Hyun but the Indian had lost to the Korean in their last meeting at the Dubai Super Series Finals.
Saina, a London Olympics bronze medallist, tried her best to break the resilience of Sindhu but the young Hyderabadi was always a step ahead as she used her reach to retrieve the shuttles and also came up with some delectable strokes to outdo her senior pro.
SAINA’S ERROR
Playing her sixth tournament after recovering from the careerthreatening knee injury, Saina never looked in discomfort as she covered the forecourt well and played some exceptional strokes. After losing the opening game, Saina set herself well for a comeback but she served at the net and then misjudged a line call while 20-19 up at the second game to lose the contest.
It was an even battle early on as they moved neck and neck till 9-9 but Sindhu then grabbed a point at both side of the court to enter the break at 11-9. Saina was left doing the catching up job after that.