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Chris Gayle is widely regarded as the greatest T20 batter ever. While he can smash sixes for fun, he has scored mountains of run in this format year after year to gain that kind of a reputation. Gayle holds the most desirable batting records in the shortest format of the game and is a self-proclaimed "Universe Boss." However, in an awkward moment for the world champion Gayle his bat broke into two and he was left only with the handle of the bat in his hand.
The incident happened in the fourth over of the run-chase in the Caribbean Premier League semifinal. While the Guyana Amazon Warriors had posted 178/9 batting first, Gayle along with Evin Lewis had got St Kitts and Nevis Patriots off to a watchful start. However, in the second ball of the fourth over of the innings being bowled by Odean Smith, which seemed to be a normal delivery wide outside the off stump, Gayle tried to smash it in the off side. But as soon as the ball hit the bat it broke into two.
The official page of the Caribbean Premier League also shared a video of the incident. "Batting malFUNction for @henrygayle #GAWvSKNP #CPL21 #CricketPlayedLouder #BiggestPartyInSport," the video was captioned.
Check out the video here:
Talking about the match, the Patriots eventually managed to go past the Warriors total and have reached the CPL final. While Gayle eventually departed for a 27-ball 42, a knock which saw him hit 5 fours and 3 sixes, it was Lewis who was the star with the bat. He eventually remained unbeaten on 77 which he accumulated in 39 deliveries. His innings was studded with three boundaries and 8 sixes. Captain Dwayne Bravo also chipped in with a 31-ball 34 with Sherfane Rutherford (11*) seeing it off along with Lewis. So clinical was the run chase that they reached their target with 13 balls remaining.
Shimron Hetmyer's unbeaten 45 and Odean Smith's 2 for 48 were the notable contributions from the Warriors' players but they weren't enough to get them a berth in the final. St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will take on St Lucia Kings in the CPL 2021 final later on Wednesday.