A night when bowlers begged for mercy, records tumbled, and Chris Gayle turned T20 cricket into his playground
Some innings are memorable. Some are destructive. And then there’s that Chris Gayle knock—an innings so brutal that it felt like a cricket video game with cheat codes enabled. April 23, 2013, wasn’t just another IPL night. It was the evening when Gayle unleashed one of the most outrageous T20 knocks ever seen, a 66-ball 175 runs that sent bowlers into hiding and helped Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) register the first-ever 250+ total in IPL history—263/5.
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
A score like that is rare, but the way it was achieved made it even more special. Gayle didn’t just break records; he obliterated them. Pune Warriors’ bowlers tried everything, but on that night, there was no stopping the ‘Universe Boss.’
Gayle didn’t just attack the bowling; he demolished it. Pune’s captain, Aaron Finch, had no answers. Mitchell Marsh was introduced early, only to see his first over yield 28 runs. Finch thought he could do better and bowled an over himself—29 runs evaporated off his bowling. Ishwar Pandey, Pune’s leading pacer that season, was met with a 21-run over.
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By the 7th over, Gayle had already reached 50. By the 11th, he was celebrating the fastest T20 century ever in just 30 deliveries. The boundaries at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium suddenly looked tiny as he continued to dispatch the ball into the stands. Even a rare yorker from Ashok Dinda, which Gayle missed, was considered a “moral victory” for Pune. That’s how dominant he was.
The only break in the massacre? A 33-minute rain delay. But even that couldn’t stop Gayle’s momentum. He resumed right where he left off, smashing more sixes over long-on and square leg.
The Warriors’ body language conveyed everything. They had no idea how to stop Gayle. Luke Wright hesitated before bowling to him. Yuvraj Singh could only shake his head as one ball after another sailed over the ropes. In fact, after Gayle concluded his innings, Yuvraj jokingly attempted to snatch Gayle’s bat as if that were the real reason for the destruction.
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Tillakaratne Dilshan, Gayle’s opening partner, scored 33 off 36 balls in a 167-run stand. Meanwhile, AB de Villiers joined the mayhem towards the end, scoring 31 off just 8 balls. The last six overs produced 85 runs, ensuring RCB finished with a record-breaking total of 263.
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Gayle didn’t merely bat; he authored a legendary chapter in IPL history. Check out the astonishing records that crumbled during his onslaught:
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
Pune Warriors’ chase? It never truly began. They ended up with 133/9 in their 20 overs, suffering a massive defeat by 130 runs—one of the largest margins in IPL history. To add further insult, Gayle even bowled an over, claiming 2 wickets for just 5 runs, because why not?
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
This match stands as one of the most unforgettable nights in the tournament’s history, as Chris Gayle wasn’t just hitting sixes that day—he was rewriting the record books of T20 cricket.
