Gayle-force hits India

Take that!

For the bowlers, he’s a destructive force; for the opposite team think-tank, he’s a headache; and for the spectators he’s a spectacle. The Jamaican left hander’s bitter row with the West Indies Cricket Board cost him his spot in his national team. But we Indians could hardly care what the West Indian board is up, because Mr. Christopher Henry a.k.a. Chris Gayle is giving every single cricket fan a good display of his 3S: Skill, Strength, and Style.

Entering the 2011 IPL edition at the half-way stage, he single-handedly took the Royal Bangalore Challengers from nowhere to the finals, and also ended up as the season’s highest scorer. The current season is no different. Gayle has begun smashing it all over the park. In the PWI vs. RCB game, Rahul Sharma was the unlucky guy Gayle selected to butcher. He faced 5 balls in that over and sent all 5 to the heavens (wonder if Mr. Abhishek Bachchan got hit by one). One person who did get hit by one of Gayle’s sixes, though, was the little girl Tia, a spectator on the ground, and the strike left her with a fractured nose. But Gayle visited her after the game, apologized and also invited her to watch a RCB match when she had got better (will she go? I wonder). This gesture has made people love him even more (being lovable is something that the West Indian cricketers carry in their genes; while some players abuse and show aggression after an achievement, the West Indians display their dance moves!).

The RCB camp is full of stars from all the best cricketing teams. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, TM Dilshan, the list is endless. But Gayle’s batting style makes all comparisons with his team-mates moot. AB de Villiers, playing his unorthodox shots, is pleasant to watch. Now compare that with a Gayle stand-and-deliver shot which seems to give the ball feathers to fly around the stadium for some time until is collides with a spectator, tree or the road outside the stadium. The power he generates while hitting the ball is so immense that sometimes even the cameraman loses track of the ball. The way he walks to the crease and looks around reminds me of the WI legends of the earlier times. He’s not keen to take the quick singles and doubles, but he makes sure he makes every ball he plays count.

This season of the IPL, considered to be the most open edition of the IPL so far, awaits some more glittering innings from the big man. We just wish that he continues with this great form and produces many more spectacular innings. Best wishes to him for his IPL tournament and while we’re at it, may we also say that it would be great to see him back in the national squad. Gems like him are just not made anymore.