Canberra: West Indies opener Chris Gayle became the first batsman to score a World Cup double century on Tuesday and admitted he had never felt such pressure to perform.
“I got a bit of cramp and I was feeling a bit tired,” said Gayle, fortunate to be given not out after an lbw appeal to the first ball he faced went to a review. “I didn’t want to be out with the first ball — I said ‘you can’t be serious?’,” he said. “I was under pressure to score runs, and I kept getting messages from Twitter and on my cell phone from fans. I have never known so many people wanting Chris Gayle to do so well.”
Gayle’s record-shattering innings came just days after he was inadvertently caught up in an embarrassing Twitter gaffe by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron, who retweeted a post from a spectator calling for the batsman to be pensioned off. “I have never felt this kind of pressure, but in the end, I am sure I gave them something to talk about,” said Gayle.
“A lot of time people don’t know what you are going through as I had some issues with injuries. I am also not getting any younger so age is definitely catching up on me.” (PTI)
