Chris Gayle’s 1000 T20 sixes adds another diamond to shining Jamaican crown
Jamaica has long dominated sprint races and the cricket field and Chris Gayle’s monumental achievement of 1000 T20 sixes is another incredible feat.
Jamaican batting legend Chris Gayle created history on Friday night when he scored his 1000th T20 six when playing for Kings XI Punjab against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
Gayle, who calls himself the ‘Universe Boss,’ achieved the milestone when he launched young Indian pacer Kartik Tyagi over mid-wicket for a big hit.
The Jamaican eventually ended up being dismissed on 99, one short of a record 23rd T20 century and it was an innings studded with eight sixes. Gayle is the only man with two 99s in IPL!
KXIP went on to lose to RR but the loss could not take away a historic night for Chris Gayle who added to the cricketing folklore of Jamaica, one that boasts of the likes of legends like Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh, Frank Worrell and in recent times, Andre Russell.
Social media was abuzz with praise for the 41-year-old Gayle, starting with fellow Jamaican and two-time Olympic gold-medallist Yohan Blake, a well-known cricket buff himself.
Chris Gayle’s phenomenal achievement only adds to the incredible sporting accolades that Jamaica has gathered globally over the years.
We take a look at some of the island nation’s biggest stars:
Usain Bolt
Arguably the most famous Jamaican in existence and one of Gayle’s closest buddies, eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt set the tracks alight for almost a decade.
An Olympic debut in Athens 2004 as an 18-year-old served as a good learning curve for Bolt to dominate the world stage four years later. He romped to the 100m and 200m golds at Beijing 2008, breaking his own world record in both events.
Bolt would go on to dominate the tracks in two more Olympics – London 2012 and Rio 2016 – winning the triple gold of 100m, 200m and 4x100m to add to his tally, which included many more golds at the World Championships.
‘Lightning Bolt’ eventually retired in 2017 as one of the most successful Olympians and undoubtedly the greatest sprinter of all time.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Widely regarded as one of the best female sprinters of all-time, two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a Jamaican legend in her own right.
Her exploits around the world helped bring the attention of the world to women’s sprinters in Jamaica, which tended to be male-dominated.
Her 100m gold at Beijing 2008 was the first by a Caribbean woman and the Olympic title defence at London 2012 made her only the third woman in history to do so.
Fraser-Pryce’s 100m gold in the 2019 World Championships also made her the only sprinter, male or female, to win four 100m world titles.
Asafa Powell
One of the most prominent Jamaican sprinters, one who even Usain Bolt refers to as an inspiration, is the veteran Asafa Powell.
Powell broke the 100m world record twice – in 2005 and 2008 – but was somehow never able to nab gold in the sprinting events. He won two 100m World Championships bronze, though earned three golds in the 4x100m relays.
The long-awaited Olympic gold medal finally arrived in Powell’s last Olympics appearance – at Rio 2016, where he triumphed in the 4x100m relay.
Yohan Blake
The second-fastest man in the world and the natural heir to Bolt, Yohan Blake continued the Jamaican legacy of producing top-class sprinters.
He became the youngest 100m world champion in 2011 and won twin silvers in the 100m and 200m at London 2012 before adding his first Olympic gold in the 4x100m. Blake also defended the relay title at Rio 2016.
Still going strong, Blake could finally win the sprinting golds at Tokyo 2020.