Lankans blown away by Gayle at Galle
After all that the West Indies cricket team has been through their giant of a man, Chris Gayle, came up with a mammoth effort to score a triple century in Galle, Sri Lanka. A ground which has traditionally been a fortress for the Lankans with its spin friendly
conditions witnessed an amazing innings of brute force and miraculous strikes to the boundary.
The former captain took the attack to the Sri Lankans from the very start and ended day 1 on 219 came out on the second day and continued where he left off.
Gayle broke record upon record as he continued to march on to the second triple century of his career. First he eclipsed Mahela Jayawardene’s highest score of 237 at the ground. Next he broke the 48 year old record of Rohan Kanhai as he became the highest
scorer for West Indies in the Subcontinent. He then bettered his own previous best of 317 and looked in a determined mood to continue further.
At the end of Day 1 when Gayle was interviewed about his innings he said:
"It would be nice to get a Test win in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 but it won't be easy. You've got to get ten wicket- taking deliveries and move on to get another ten. We still have four more days to go we'll have to continue and build on this. Brian
[Lara] scored over 600 runs in the series but we lost all three Test matches. At the same time we got about 400 runs here [Galle] in the first Test the last time I was here, but we still lost the Test match. We still have that in mind so we are not taking
anything for granted. It was a good day for us so we just have a try and get about 500 runs and get a good start".
Gayle also expressed his desire to set a new career best. "I'd love to get to that 317 that would be a milestone. The wicket's still good to bat on and the spinners are getting a bit more bounce and turn. We'll see tomorrow, if we
can get past the first hour anything is possible".
The triple century was Gayle’s first significant score in the Subcontinent after failing miserably the last time http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 toured the region. Gayle was aware of the fact and stated, "I was aware of that I had not scored a hundred
against all three teams. I was keen to score a Test century against Sri Lanka, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. Coming here I was definitely looking forward to that first break. When I got it I was very pleased and to be batting right to the end”.
The turmoil in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the fact that major players such as Gayle and Bravo did not sign their central contracts plunged West Indies cricket into more gloom.
This triple century was sure to show the rest of the World that despite their domestic problems the team is capable of thrilling on its day. The whole team was uplifted by an effort of such magnitude and were hoping that Gayle could
continue his amazing stroke play and not only achieve more personal milestones but also put the team in a very strong position to set up a rare victory.
Gayle had his share of luck though as fast bowler Dammika Prasad was sure he had made the break through when Gayle tried pulling a short delivery but got a top edge. The top edge went spiralling into the air and Sri Lankan captain
Kumar Sangakkara gleefully accepted the chance at short cover. The Sri Lankans began celebrating finally getting rid of Chris Gayle after being made to toil in the field for so long, but their joy was short lived. Gayle was relieved and the Lankan team was
shocked that the umpire had signalled for a no-ball and Gayle had gotten a reprieve.
All he needed was that one bit of luck as he then continued to pummel the bowlers to all parts of the ground. Gayle plundered the bowlers till he reached 333, when mystery spinner Ajanta Mendis managed to out-think him and got one
to sneak past his defences and crash into the stumps. Nevertheless it was an amazing innings for all those who were able to witness it and showed that while West Indies cricket is down they can never be counted out.
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