Big Chris smashes 30 ball ton!!

[Gob]

Chris Gayle set a new record for the fastest century in professional cricket by reaching 100 off 30 balls.



The West Indies batsman, 33, beat Australian Andrew Symonds's 34-ball ton in 2004 and he went on to record the highest Twenty20 score of 175 not out.

Gayle smashed 17 sixes and 13 fours in a 66-ball knock, beating Brendan McCullum of New Zealand's 158 not out.

His Royal Challengers Bangalore side hit a T20 record 263-5 and beat Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League.

That score eclipsed the previous best of 260, set by Sri Lanka against Kenya in Johannesburg in September 2007.

Fastest centuries

30 balls: Chris Gayle, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors, IPL, 23 April 2013
34 balls: Andrew Symonds, Kent v Middlesex, Twenty20 Cup, 2 July 2004
35 balls: Louis van der Westhuizen, Namibia v Kenya, unofficial T20 international, 7 November 2011
37 balls: Shahid Afridi, Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ODI, 4 October 1996
37 balls: Scott Styris, Sussex v Gloucs, Twenty20 Cup, 24 July 2012
37 balls: Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians, IPL, 13 March 2010

Gayle also took two wickets late in the Pune innings as they scored 133-9 in reply, with Royal Challengers winning by 130 runs.

He told ITV4: "I'm lost for words. It was just one of those days. It's a good wicket and I started well.

"I got a good total. I can't say it's a decent total - it's a good total.

"All I had for breakfast this morning was a plain omelette, two pancakes and a hot chocolate."

In November last year, Gayle became the first man to hit a six off the opening ball of a Test match - the left hander hit Bangladesh debutant Sohag Gazi for a maximum in the first Test in Dhaka.

Symonds set the previous record for the fastest century in 2004, playing for Kent against Middlesex in the Twenty20 Cup.

Pakistan's Shahid Afridi hit the fastest century in 50-over cricket in 1996, reaching a ton in 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi.

The fastest century in Test cricket belongs to Gayle's fellow West Indian batsman Viv Richards, who needed 56 balls to achieve the feat against England in Antigua in 1986.

India captain Mahendra Dhoni, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, expressed sympathy for Pune's bowlers after Gayle's record innings as he tweeted: "Life is all about taking the right decision. Seeing Gayle bat today, I think I took the right decision being a wicketkeeper."

[Lord Jim]

Gee Strop, when you're unleashing news of this earth shattering significance, you could warn a guy....

I didn't happen to be sitting when I opened this post, and I was so overcome by the news, that my knees gave way, my eyes rolled back in head, and I collapsed in a swoon....I could have suffered a serious injury from the fall....












I'm assuming that sarcasm tags are not needed....

[Gob]

Sorry mate, will remember next time!

[Econoline]

Oh come on, Jim...with a thread title as incomprehensible (from an American viewpoint) as "Big Chris smashes 30 ball ton!!" you must have known it was going to be something about cricket. (I splashed some cold water on my face and sat down in a comfortable chair before taking a look.)

[dales]

Is that anything like the hardon collider?

[MajGenl.Meade]

A great innings which thanks to the modern miracle of Tell E Vijun I was able to see (in highlight) form last night. What a treat! And not only that but also the highest Twenty20 score ever of 175 not out from 66 balls! Particularly enjoyable was watching Dilshan pull an LJ and fall faint at the other end as he had no real opportunity to move! (Nice to see AB whacking a couple as well)

[Gob]

I'm envious mate, all I caught was a few highlights.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I'm envious mate, all I caught was a few highlights.

Guess you had trouble falling asleep then.

[Rick]

Evidently this is actually a ho hum moment since it appears as though this sort of thing has been going on since 1767...

[Rick]

and they didn't juice...

[Gob]

Cricket ball juice?

[Crackpot]

I thought this thread was going to be about somebody assaulting 15 men with a very heavy weight

[Rick]

Cricket ball juice?

Juice = Steroids

They'll discover that someone who can do that many "tons" has juiced...