Centurion, March 26 () Johnson Charles broke the record of Chris Gayle when he slammed the fastest T20I hundred by a West Indies batter in mens T20Is during the second match of the series against South Africa at the SuperSport Park, here on Sunday.
Charles blasted the South Africa attack all around the park on the way to his hundred, which he reached in just 39 balls. This was a maiden T20I hundred for Charles, who got 106 runs off boundaries in his ferocious knock. He was eventually cleaned up at 118 by a Marco Jansen yorker.
The 34-year-old Charles’ hundred is the second joint-fastest in the format and the fastest by a West Indian in T20Is, going past the 47-ball hundred by Gayle coming against England in the 2016 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The record for fastest T20I hundred is shared by South Africa’s David Miller, India captain Rohit Sharma and Czech Republic’s Sudesh Wickramasekara.
Overall, the 46-ball carnage from his bat helped West Indies to reach 258/5 in 20 overs, its highest total in the format. The score surpassed the previous-best score of 245/6 which came against India at Lauderhill, USA, in 2016.
Kyle Mayers was the second highest scorer for the side with 51 runs off 27 balls. West Indies are currently leading the three-game T20I series against South Africa by 1-0.
nr/ak