Kohli prompts, crowd sings - when Gayle eclipsed Lara
The infectious smile that reaches his eyes. The shoulder jigs to Caribbean music. The quiet leadership as he helps Jason Holder with field placements - there is an energy to Chris Gayle that is hard to describe. Holder has often said "there's a special energy" in the dressing room when Gayle is around. It's like the crowd has suddenly been jerked awake and given a double shot of espresso and now they all suddenly want to bounce off the walls.
That's the effect Gayle has on people.
In the second ODI against India in Port of Spain - which was also his 300th ODI, a feat Holder called "unimaginable to many players in the dressing room," - Gayle's every move got him cheers from fans, and sometimes from opponents. He also overtook batting legend, Brian Lara's record of 10,353 runs to top the run charts for West Indies in ODI history.
Here are four memorable moments from Gayle's milestone match:
His time on the field:
He posed with the manual scorecard that read 300 before the West Indies stepped on to the field. At first slip, he helped Holder make fielding decisions, often getting in a huddle with the captain to figure out a new plan when Virat Kohli's innings took off. The crowd cheered on every save he made, especially the one at extra cover when he stopped a Kohli extra cover drive off Kemar Roach in the first 10 overs.
His time off it:
After the 20-over mark, Gayle took some time off. Not unusual if you've followed his career of late. The fans wanted more, though, and put up placards that varied from "I love Gayle" and "We want a Gayle storm," some yelling "come back Gayle."
Breaking the record:
Gayle took his time with the innings, sneaking a couple of singles and letting local star Evin Lewis take the lead. In the ninth over, he cuts a short delivery to the third man for a single, overtaking Lara's record as West Indies top scorer in ODIs with 10,349 runs. When fans didn't react to the accomplishment, Kohli waved at the crowd, alerting them to Gayle's achievement. Gayle lifted his bat at the crowd, grinning widely. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers and the Indian fielders watched him as they clapped.
Four deliveries later, he scythed a length ball between backward point and cover to overtake another one of Lara's record - this time in total number of ODI runs scored (West Indies and ICC XI) - 10, 353.
The dismissal:
Every ball Gayle faces is eventful, and so was the 10th over full delivery by Bhuvneshwar Kumar that stuck him dead in front of the middle stump. The umpire's hand goes up instantly, and Gayle, after taking a few seconds to think about it - there could have been an inside edge - sends it up for review. Replays showed there is no bat involved and he took the ball low and center. He was dismissed for 11 in 24 balls.
"We didn't want him to score runs, especially in this match. But, of course, we were all happy for him. He is a very good person and it's a good achievement," Bhuvneshwar, whose four-wicket haul helped India to victory, said at the press conference.