Player of the Match: RCB's Chris Gayle

Brendon McCullum, nine years ago, kicked off IPL by making the highest T20 score. But, over the years, Chris Gayle broke that record, set a few that might not be broken and became the principal in the pantheon of T20 greats.

McCullum, too, is a T20 god. But Gayle is Zeus. On Tuesday night, it was a battle of these two big-hitters. Both were destructive. But Gayle’s 38-ball 77 bested Baz’s 44-ball 72.

Gayle also went past 10,000 T20 runs. Take a look at Gayle's stats and you’d laugh at the ridiculousness of the figures. He tops the leading run-getters list. Below him, there’s vast empty space. Then, McCullum comes second with 7596 runs. Gayle’s boundaries amount to 7520. Remember the times when you’d pondered the possibility of a T20 hundred? Gayle has 18. Gujarat Lions didn’t let him add another, but his 77 was enough to set up RCB’s win.