'Irrepresible': Chris Gayle's hilarious act amid retirement talk
West Indian legend Chris Gayle had hinted Saturday's T20 World Cup match against Australia could be one his last on the world stage and if so, he certainly went out with a bang.
Australia claimed a convincing win against the West Indies, who had been knocked out of the tournament days earlier by Sri Lanka.
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Gayle hasn't made a formal announcement of his retirement, but the 42-year-old took to the field clearly in the mood to enjoy himself.
The West Indies batted first, but unfortunately Gayle wasn't able to much much of an impact despite smashing two early boundaries.
Instead, he let out a huge roar after chopping a Pat Cummins delivery onto his stumps, sent back to the pavilion for 15.
He took off his helmet as he walked back, raising his bat and flashing his typically beaming smile to the crowd, who stood in appreciation of the batting great.
It was as close to an acknowledgement of his decision fans have seen yet - but the 'Universe Boss' wasn't finished having fun just yet.
In potentially his final outing for the West Indies it was only fitting that he would have a bowl.
Mitch Marsh holing out to cover prompted a wild celebration from Gayle, who even hugged Marsh as he walked off the field - with the Aussie star unable to conceal a grin of his own in the amusing situation.
Chris Gayle thanks Mitch Marsh for his final T20 International wicket 😂 #t20worldcup2021 pic.twitter.com/aGPKO8m8Si
— Steve Allen (@ScubaStv) November 6, 2021
In an interview before the eight-wicket loss to Australia, Gayle joked that he was 'semi-retired' - but other comments praising fellow West Indies great Dwayne Bravo hinted at the truth.
“I can remember the fun memories, winning two world titles, fantastic,” Gayle said.
“Playing with Bravo as well, to be a part of that has been fantastic.
“I know he’s leaving us, but he’s done a great job for West Indies cricket.
“He’s a legend of the game, one of the greats, so I’m happy to finish with DJ Bravo here in this last game against Australia.”
“But I’m semi-retired. I’m semi, I’m one away."
Cricket fans were loving Gayle's antics as he left the field for potentially the final time.
Without any doubt CG was the ultimate entertainer in the game of cricket #ChrisGayle
— Khawar Ghumman (@Ghummans) November 6, 2021
The greatest entertainer in the history of world cricket bows out. What a batsman, what a character, what an irrepressible life force. A joy to watch him play, an honour to call him a friend.
Congrats on a monumental career, Universe Boss @henrygayle 👏👏👏🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Xz5PihttsE— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 6, 2021
There are cricketers and then, there are revolutionaries. Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo were the second kind, defining T20 cricket for over a decade and a half. Thank you for the memories!#T20WorldCup
— Shirshendu Roy (@Shirsh9) November 6, 2021
Chris Gayle & Dwayne Bravo defined a decade of T20 cricket. It's hard to believe they are saying farewell to international cricket. Go well big men, you changed the game.
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) November 6, 2021
Australia power past West Indies in potential Chris Gayle farewell
David Warner believes Australia have seized momentum at the right stage of the Twenty20 World Cup after blasting his side into the semi-finals.
Warner's unbeaten 89, the highest score by an Australian ever at a T20 World Cup, was the catalyst for an eight-wicket victory over West Indies in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Aaron Finch's side will face Pakistan in their semi, provided group two's table toppers defeat Scotland in their final pool game.
Australia progressed beyond the group stage of the tournament for the first time since 2012, although they had a nervous wait after hauling in a target of 158 with 22 balls remaining.
South Africa would have finished above Australia if they toppled England and bridged a net run-rate (NRR) gap of 0.474.
The Proteas beat England, but not by enough. They stormed to a total of 2-189 but, needing to restrict England to 131 or less, had to settle for limiting them to 8-179 despite a late hat-trick by Kagiso Rabada.
Warner shared a boundary-laden stand of 124 runs with Mitch Marsh (53), shining with the bat after Josh Hazlewood's haul of 4-39 and more tidy work from Adam Zampa (1-20).
It was the antithesis of what unfolded a week ago, when Marsh was dropped for what proved a lopsided loss to England.
"It's good to get one of those games out of the way," Warner said.
"Because sometimes it happens in tournament play. Sometimes you do get hurt and you get hurt badly.
"That's what happened ... you have to forget very fast about that, keep backing your game plan.
"We are hitting the momentum in the right stage of this tournament."
Warner, gunning for Australia's first T20 title in the seventh edition of the event, said his side wouldn't feel any additional pressure in their semi.
With AAP
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