Chris Gayle scored a century for Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL.Photo: Caribbean Premier League

Chris Gayle now has 22 centuries in T20 cricket. The next highest is a humble eight.

Put into bat first by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, the Universe Boss opened the innings for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League match at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on Tuesday and left the field only in the final over.

Gayle, who bats for Kings XI Punjab in the VIVO Indian Premier League, blazed from the get go, such that when the first wicket fell at the end of the fourth over, the score was 37 as New Zealand wicket-keeper Glenn Phillips walked back to the pavilion have scored just nine of those. Gayle had struck a four and two sixes in the opening over itself, setting the tone of the match.

From there, the boundaries rained even more as Chadwick Walton and Gayle put on 162 runs for the second wicket in just 79 balls; a record CPL partnership. While Walton pummeled 73 off 36 balls, Gayle brought his ton in 54 and departed at the start of the 20th over for 116 off 62 deliveries, helped with 7 fours and 10 sixes and a strike rate of 187.09. It included three maximums off Rayad Emrit in the 14th over and three straight off Carlos Brathwaite in the 16th.

It was the 39-year-old Gayle's highest score in the CPL and his fourth hundred in the league, the joint most with Dwayne Smith.

At the end of the innings, Jamaica's 241/4 was the highest team score in the tournament, only to be eclipsed when Patriots chased the score down with four wickets and seven balls to spare.

The match saw 37 sixes - the joint most in a single T20 match, equaling the maximums in the Afghanistan Premier League match involving Balkh Legends and Kabul Zwanan, where incidentally Gayle too hit 10 sixes in his innings for the Legends.

Nicholas Pooran scored a blazing fifty for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL.Photo: Caribbean Premier League

Pooran shines

Earlier on Sunday, another Kings XI Punjab signing had put on an impressive show in the CPL. Guyana Amazon Warriors' keeper Nicholas Pooran had struck an unbeaten 61 off just 30 balls against Barbados Tridents with the help of 3 fours and 5 sixes, striking at a rate of 203.33.

Along with Sherfane Rutherford, he put on unbeaten 78 for the fifth wicket in just 29 balls. His five sixes came off the last seven deliveries he faced, and his last 36 runs came off just 8 balls at a stunning strike rate of 450.00.

Guyana posted 180/4 in their 20 overs and went on to win the match by 47 runs. Pooran was named Man of the Match for his blitz.

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