Who is the first batsman to hit a century in 20-20 World Cup? Find out here
T20 World Cup: (Image Source: Twitter)
The eighth edition of the 20-20 World cup is almost here as there are just three days left in the tournament. The T20 extravaganza will feature 16 teams going against each other in the mega event to fight for the ultimate T20 glory. As the countdown to the World Cup begins, fans are discussing several memorable moments from the mega event in the last seven editions.
The T20 fever swept across the entire world as the first-ever edition of the 20-20 World Cup got underway in 2007 in South Africa. India were crowned the first-ever World T20 Champions after they beat Pakistan by five runs in the final.
The new venture by the Apex Cricket Council turned out to be a hugely successful event as several unprecedented moments lit up the entire tournament. There were numerous records which were broken as many players etched their names in the annals of history with their stupendous performances. However, one performance stood out from all as it gave the tournament the perfect beginning one could ask for.
On 11th September 2007, the world was introduced to the term ‘Gayle storm’ for the first time as West Indies batter Chris Gayle unleashed his beast mode against South Africa. It was the first-ever match of the 20-20 World Cup and the southpaw got the tournament off to an incredible start.
The aggressive opener scored a scintillating 117 of 57 balls scoring seven fours and ten sixes to take his side to a massive 205 while batting first. The drama didn’t end there as Herschelle Gibbs decided to return the favour by scoring a blistering 90 off 55 balls to help his side script a memorable win in the first match of the tournament.
He was well supported by Justin Kemp, who scored 46 off 22 balls. Courtesy of Gibbs and Kemp’s masterclass, South Africa chased down the total in just 17.4 overs. The big lad from the Caribbean went on to score many more centuries in the T20 format post that, however, his performance against South Africa will be remembered for ages.
It doesn’t get any better than scoring a century in the very first game of a World Cup and stamping your authority on the new format from the first game itself.
