Chris Gayle’s scored a World Cup record 215 and took two wickets as the West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 73 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis-method in Canberra on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe succumbed to 289 all out in 44.3 overs, chasing 363 for victory after the Duckworth/Lewis-method reduced their original target of 373.
Sean Williams (76) and Craig Ervine (52) fought valiantly with the bat, but one or both of them needed to make a big score if they had any chance of winning the game.
Gayle took 2-35 in six overs, while Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder each claimed three wickets.
Earlier Gayle scored the first double-century in the history of the World Cup, losing his wicket with the last ball of the innings with his score on 215 off 147 balls.
‘I didn’t want to be out with the first ball,’ Gayle said.
‘I just want to thank god for this knock. I was under pressure to score runs, and I kept getting messages from twitter and on my cell phone. I have never felt this kind of pressure, but in the end, I am sure I gave them something to talk about. It was a bit slow at the start, not to mention keeping it low.
‘I just tried to take the bull by the horns and hang out there and try and build an innings. After a while I was able to pick a bowler to target and then, in the end, I was out off the last ball (chuckles). A lot of time people don’t know what you are going through as I had some issues with injuries. I am also not getting any younger so age is definitely catching up on me. Overall I am really happy, and I just want to try and build on this as much as possible. Want to build on this momentum and move ahead as we look towards the South Africa game.’
Gayle’s 215: Six firsts
1. Gayle’s ODI double-century is the first scored by a non-Indian cricketer. Rohit Sharma (twice), Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar achieved the feat before him.
2. Tuesday’s achievement in Canberra was the first outside India. Kolkata, Indore, Bangalore and Gwalior hosted its four predecessors.
3. The hard-hitting opener’s record is the highest individual World Cup score. South African Gary Kirsten’s 188 not out against the United Arab Emirates in Rawalpindi in 1996 was surpassed.
4. The partnership shared with Marlon Samuels is the highest for any wicket in ODI cricket, beating the 331-run alliance shared by Indians Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.
5. Gayle is the first left-hander to score an ODI double-ton. Sharma, Sehwag and Tendulkar are right-handed.
6. The stalwart West Indian reached 200 off 138 deliveries – two, nine and 18 faster than Sehwag, Tendulkar and Sharma respectively. Rohit’s second ODI double-century, in 2014, came off 151 balls.
SLEDGING WAR AWAITS NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand are expecting Australia to sledge as part of their game-plan when the teams clash in their World Cup match in Auckland on Saturday, all-rounder Corey Anderson has said.
Australia has long employed aggressive banter as a tactic to try to put opponents off their game, earning criticism from some pundits and a raft of code of conduct violations for taking the chirping too far.
Saturday’s match at Eden Park is expected to be a sell-out and could well decide who finishes top of Pool A ahead of the knockout rounds.
‘Their sledging tactics are well-known now,’ Anderson told reporters in Auckland.
‘It’s something we haven’t involved ourselves in. We’re neutral on the field and we just stick to what we do.
‘We’ll be expecting a little bit of heat from them but I guess that’s just part of their game plan and we’ll deal to it as it comes.’ – Reuters
