Explosive Windies opener Chris Gayle ended his List-A career with Jamaica on a high note, slamming a century in his final match against Barbados in a Regional Super 50 clash at Bridgetown on Saturday. Speaking on his performance, the ‘Universe Boss’ said that he would always cherish the hundred and thanked his teammates for electing him as captain in his final match. Gayle smashed 122 runs that came off 114 balls, helping Jamaica secure a 33-run win over Barbados.
After winning the toss Barbados put Jamaica into bat but the team got off to a poor start. Top order batsmen Chadwick Walton (5) and Jermaine Blackwood (2) departed early, leaving their side with 21 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets.
But Gayle, at the other end, stood solid, stitching a partnership of 131 runs with Andre McCarthy (48) for the third wicket. After the departure of McCarthy, Gayle batted responsibly with the lower-order, helping Jamaica post a competitive total of 226 all out in 47.4 overs. During his 122-run knock, Gayle smashed 10 boundaries and eight towering sixes.
While chasing 226, Barbados lost wickets at regular intervals and ended up 33 runs short of the target. Gayle marshalled his troops brilliantly, helping Jamaica secure a win.
Gayle was awarded the Man of the Match award for his century in the low-scoring encounter.
The Jamaican opener played a total of 356 List A matches, scoring 12,436 runs at an average of 38.14.
Gayle has represented the Windies in 284 ODIs, scoring 9,727 runs at an average of 37.12. Gayle has 23 hundreds in ODIs for the Windies.
In the Test format, Gayle has played 103 matches for the Windies with a high score of 333 runs.