When Chris Gayle padded up and stepped out on the field in Port of Spain on Sunday, he took a giant stride and made history.
Batting against India, the Universe Boss became the first West Indian player to make 300 One Day Internationals appearance, surpassing the previous record set by Brian Lara.
REINTRODUCING the Universe Boss!🐐😎 The man with the most ODI runs in West Indies history!🙌🏾 WI Salute You! #WIvIND #MenInMaroon #ItsOurGame pic.twitter.com/GE2i77qavA
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 11, 2019
Top 10 Most caps for West Indies in ODIs! 🌴🏏 pic.twitter.com/UkO1vcIsIN
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 11, 2019
"300 games is a lot of games," West Indies captain Jason Holder had said in a press conference a day earlier. "Some of us in the dressing room can't even imagine that."
But that wasn't the only record Gayle took away from Lara.
In the ninth over, when he chopped the ball from pacer Khaleel Ahmed to third man, he became the highest run scorer in ODIs for a West Indian player.
Gayle, who represents Kings XI Punjab in the VIVO Indian Premier League, now has 10,408 runs in ODIs in 300 matches.
"It's a very special day," Gayle said ahead of the match. "I must give thanks to the almighty to actually reach this far, and to the fans for the support throughout the years. It's been fantastic."