Gayle’s gale propels Rangpur to title

Chris Gayle struck an explosive century filled with record to set up a huge 57-run win for Rangpur Riders over Dhaka Dynamites, helping the side win their maiden Bangladesh Premier League title on Tuesday. 
Gayle hit an unbeaten 146 runs off 69 deliveries while Brendon McCullum smashed 51 not out as the pair shared BPL’s highest ever partnership of 201 runs, guiding Rangpur 206-1 on a packed Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
A dumbfounded Dhaka found no answer to one of the most brutal innings in Twenty20 history and were restricted to 149-6 for heavy defeat. 
Gayle, who has broken the record of BPL’s highest innings twice in this edition, spared no bowlers to smash as many as 18 sixes, a world record in Twenty20 history, which again surpassed his own record.
He hit 17 sixes for Royale Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013 Indian Premier League but put this record behind him with a six in the final ball of the innings. 
Sakib, the highest wicket–taker in the tournament, got only himself to blame for letting Gayle to cut his bowlers into pieces when dropped the Caribbean batsman on 22 runs in the sixth over of the innings. 
Gayle was yet to start fire as he tried to smash Mossadek Hossain to extra-cover where Sakib was fielding but the all-rounder dropped a straightforward catch, leaving the batsman to take the game away from their grip with his sheer power. 
Sakib gave Dhaka an early breakthrough removing an in-form opener Johnson Charles, who could score just three runs after his century eliminated favourites Comilla Victorians less than 24 hours ago.
But Gayle and McCullum made the occasion to cherish for Rangpur, hitting 21 sixes between them in their record partnership. Gayle also achieved some personal milestone as he became the fastest player to score 11,000 runs in Twenty20 history. 
‘It is a big game, a big occasion. To actually stand out and get a century in a final, you actually look back and say well done. You tap yourself on the back. It is a winning effort as well, which makes it more special for me. So I am glad that we came out on top,’ Gayle said after the match. 
After Gayle’s innings Dhaka could do very little despite possessing one of the best line ups in the tournament. 
Jahirul Islam staged a lone battle in the field for Dhaka as he scored 50 off 38 balls with four fours and two sixes but that was too little an effort to overhaul a too big target. 
For Rangpur Sohag Gazi, Nazmul Islam and Isuru Udana picked up two wickets each to ensure a commendable victory for their side. 
Gayle was named as the player-of-the-final as well as player-of-the-tournament for his outstanding performance with the bat throughout the competition, scoring highest 485 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate of 176.36 with two centuries and two fifties.
The title also helped Rangpur skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza to improve his personal record as he has now won four BPL titles out of five.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net