West Indies opener smashed nine sixes and six fours on his way to a 12-ball fifty, a feat matched by Northern Warriors’ Waseem Muhammad in the very next game on an explosive day in the Abu Dhabi T10
Wednesday 3 February 2021 18:31, UK
Chris Gayle plundered nine sixes as he smote 84no off just 22 balls to propel Team Abu Dhabi to a crushing nine-wicket win over Maratha Arabians, in the Abu Dhabi T10.
Chasing 98 to win, Team Abu Dhabi got home off just 5.3 overs as Gayle galloped to a fifty in just 12 balls - a feat he had previously achieved in 2016 while playing for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.
On a remarkable day in Abu Dhabi, Waseem Muhammad then matched Gayle's achievement by striking a half-century off 12 balls to hurry Northern Warriors to an eight-wicket victory over Pune Devils, for whom Yorkshire's Sam Wisniewski took 2-14.
The fastest half-century in international T20 cricket also came off 12 balls - India's Yuvraj Singh pummelling England in 2007.
Ireland's Paul Stirling (11 off five) and Englishman Joe Clarke (five not out) had the best seats in the house at the other end as Gayle teed off, while Ben Duckett and Sam Billings - the next two batsmen due to come in - were not needed.
Amid the carnage, seamer Sompal Kami conceded 27 runs off an over while Mosaddek Hossain went for 22. In the context of the match, 16-year-old leg-spinner Maroof Merchant's excelled in just conceding 15 off his one over.
Predictably, the 41-year-old Gayle finished the match with a six to end on a strike-rate of 381.82 - a figure swelled by six fours.
Only Nicholas Pooran has scored more runs from fours and sixes than his West Indian counterpart Gayle in an Abu Dhabi T10 innings - his 89 off 24 balls for Northern Warriors against Bangla Tigers last month including 84 runs from boundaries, while Gayle chalked up 78.
In the next match, Waseem followed up his 76 off 34 balls against Team Abu Dhabi two days previously with 56no off 13 deliveries at a strike-rate of 431 - his knock including seven sixes and three fours.
Incredibly, that meant that a total of 96 percent of his runs came in boundaries as Warriors eclipsed Pune Devils' total of 97-8 - which featured 3-5 from Wayne Parnell - with 33 balls of their allocated 60 remaining. Parnell was named man-of-the-match for his figures.
Slow left-armer Monir Hossain conceded 35 off one over as struck one four and four maximums, plus another six off a no-ball, in a brutal assault.
Live coverage of the Abu Dhabi T10 continues on Sky Sports Cricket.
