Twitter goes mad as Gayle storm propels Rangpur Riders to clinch their first BPL title

Once a king, always a king! No better time to use this phrase as Christopher Henry Gayle showed the world yet again that he’s not done yet. The King of T20 cricket notched back to back centuries in crucial games which helped the Rangpur Riders win their first BPL title in 6 years. Gayle smashed a whopping, record-breaking 18 sixes in his innings of 146 in 69 balls, beating the previous best tally of 17 sixes in an inning, which incidentally happens to be his own record.

Batting first, centurion from the Eliminator Johnson Charles was dismissed in the second over. Post then, Dhaka fans had nothing to cheer till the final ball of the innings as Gayle and McCullum steamrolled past the Dynamites. The 38-year-old smacked the bowlers to all parts whilst McCullum, quite uncharacteristically, played a second-fiddle knock.

The duo ensured they didn’t lose any more wickets till the final ball of their innings. With Gayle bringing up a staggering 20th T20 hundred and McCullum scoring a nonchalant, but effective half-century, Rangpur finished with a gigantic total of 206 for the loss of one wicket, which was pretty much sufficient to end Dhaka’s monopoly in the League.

Just a formality with the ball

Joe Denly and Mehedi Maruf got dismissed very early in the innings, which left Evin Lewis with no choice but to emulate his senior Windies companion (Gayle). In the process, he struck a few boundaries but eventually got dismissed. Rubel Hossain then chipped in with a gigantic wicket of Kieron Pollard, which virtually settled the deal.

Losing four big wickets inside the Powerplay ain’t an ideal way to kick-start an innings whilst chasing something in excess of 200 and momentum was well and truly on the Riders’ side. They held on to it with some disciplined bowling and Shakib Al Hasan, who looked dangerous during his little stint, threw his wicket away attempting to do something spectacular.

Jahrul Islam tried his best to get his side close, but he could only help his side lose by a respectable margin. The defending champions were flabbergasted in front of their home fans at Dhaka as Gayle bowled the final over of the game, with over 60 runs needed. He gave away just two runs as Rangpur lifted the trophy for the first time in the short little history of the BPL.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Gayle-Storm which stupefied Dhaka