Chris Gayle blazed a half-century off 17 balls to power West Indies to a four-wicket victory over South Africa in the first Twenty20 international at Newlands on Friday.
The left-hander bludgeoned the ball all round the ground to record the joint second fastest fifty in Twenty20 international history, finishing with 77 from 31 deliveries as the touring side reached their target of 166 with four balls to spare.
After South Africa had won the toss, they posted a competitive score of 165 for four but found Gayle in no mood to deal in singles.
Marlon Samuels compiled a fluent 41 from 32 balls before he became the third wicket of the innings for the impressive Tahir, who conceded only 28 runs in his four overs.
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| Gayle was MOM for his 17 ball 50. |
South Africa’s total was built around an unbeaten 51 from 40 balls by left-hander Rilee Rossouw and captain Faf du Plessis struck a brisk 38 from 20 balls.
Gayle: ‘It was a wonderful atmosphere to play cricket, the crowd here (Cape Town) is really great. We decided to play our shots and it came off very well. I haven’t batted a lot, I had my first net session here in South Africa (just one net though). Hopefully, I will continue to play well. I just had a good time bantering with my fellow team-mate, Rabada (in Ramslam Challenge). It was nice to get going, right from the start. The ball was coming on nicely to the bat, but there were times when the ball stopped a bit after pitching. They bowled short at me, that made my task easier, I could free my arms and disturb their line and lengths.’
Gayle Storm's Video.
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