In battle of sixes, Gayle catches up with Afridi
NEWDELHI: With five sixes in West Indies’ third and last ODI against Bangladesh on Saturday, Chris Gayle equalled Shahid Afridi’s long-standing record of 476 sixes. At first glance, the comparison (see graphic) shows how Gayle is ahead of Afridi in terms of hitting prowess. While Afridi’s 476 sixes came in 524 matches, Gayle’s effort came in 443 matches.
One of the biggest reasons behind Gayle’s better average is his broad shoulders that allow those huge backlifts behind every six fired across the boundary. Being a T20 mercenary has helped him hone this particular skill. Another reason is the difference in roles. While Gayle — who no longer plays Tests — has opened almost all his life, Afridi was an all-rounder who opened and batted in the middle.
Gayle has 98 sixes in Tests as opposed to Afridi’s 52 but that’s because the Jamaican has played more Tests (103) than Afridi (27). Afridi has played more ODIS than Gayle and has smashed 351 sixes compared to Gayle’s 275. But that was also because 86 of those overboundaries came in tournaments hosted in the comparatively smaller grounds of UAE. Afridi’s most favoured ODI opponents were Sri Lanka and India against whom he hit 63 and 51 sixes respectively. This was quite obvious since Afridi played bulk of his ODIS against these two. Overall, Afridi was more dangerous on flat pitches of Asia where he scored 291 out of the 476 sixes.
Gayle’s map is more spread out. He has scored 103 ODI sixes at home, 27 in England, 26 in India, 22 in New Zealand and 21 in Australia. England and India have some of the smaller venues but those in Australia and even New Zealand have massive dimensions. And the fact he has hit the most T20I sixes (25 out of 103) on the fast pitches of South Africa shows Gayle’s versatility. At 38, Gayle will definitely eye the 2019 World Cup. If he plays till then, Gayle should own a record that may stand for a long time.