Published: Apr 19, 2017, 01:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 19, 2017, 01:24 PM (IST)
Not only did Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secure a convincing 21-run victory against Gujarat Lions (GL), they also witnessed ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle at his best, bossing around in his pomp as he became the first cricketer in history to complete 10,000 T20 runs. Joining hands along with him was RCB skipper Virat Kohli, who scored his second fifty. Gayle and Kohli also brought up their 10th century stand, becoming the first pair to achieve this feat. On this occasion, Kohli decided to don the role of a journalist and asked Gayle about what it is like to open batting with him. Gayle termed his 10,000 runs as a special achievement and mentioned that it was an icing on the cake to secure this feat with Kohli on the other end. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL 2017, Match 20
After the post-match presentation, Kohli caught up with Man of the Match Gayle asking his experience to bat with him as reporter of iplt20.com, “It’s a great feeling to open the innings with you. It’s an absolute pleasure mate. You’re a legend and you have many more runs to score. It’s a privilege to actually watch you from the other end and to see you score fluently. Well done on your career so far and I wish you many, many more from my heart: seriously.” With Gayle achieving a milestone of that order, it was also time for statisticians to rack their brains as several other records were broken.
Kohli was equally excited to share this moment with Gayle and added, “It was our 10th 100-run partnership in T20s and it is a record. You got to 10,000 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 149 and 18 hundreds. It is a crazy stat. It has been my privilege to open with you.” GL vs RRCB, IPL 2017, Match 20: Highlights
Gayle could not thank his captain enough. He expressed gratitude towards Kohli as well as RCB: “Since I joined this franchise, things have gone great for me as well from a personal point of view, so I am very thankful for that. You guys have been special and it is special to share the dressing room with you. We have a lot of talent, many youngsters and it is good fun. It has been an absolute pleasure.”
