Veteran West Indies batter Johnson Charles destroyed South Africa's bowling attack in the second T20I at SuperSport Park in Centurion on March 26 (Sunday). The explosive right-handed batter registered the fastest century by a West Indies cricketer, and in the process, annihilated former captain Chris Gayle's record. Charles' outrageous stroke-making also made him the fourth quickest to record a century in T20I cricket. The 34-year-old reached the three-figure mark in just 39 balls after taking Proteas' bowlers to the cleaners.
Charles reached the milestone in style by smashing Sisanda Magala's delivery for a gigantic six on the fourth ball of the 13th over. In his breathtaking knock of 118 runs off 46 balls, the muscular Charles powered 10 fours and 11 sixes before being dismissed by Marco Jansen. The swashbuckling batter came out to bat at No.3 and demonstrated spectacular power-hitting skills, recording a strike rate of 256.52.
During his stupendous knock, Charles overhauled Gayle's mark to secure the record for the fastest century in T20I by a West Indian batter. Gayle previously held the record when he smashed a 47-ball century against England in 2016.
Fastest T20I centuries for West Indies:
Johnson Charles: 39 balls vs South Africa
Chris Gayle: 47 balls vs England
Evin Lewis: 48 balls vs India
Chris Gayle: 50 balls vs South Africa
Rowman Powell: 51 balls vs England
When it comes to the fastest century in T20I cricket, Charles scaled to the No.4 position after his attractive innings on Sunday.
Fastest century in T20Is:
David Miller: 35 balls vs Bangladesh
Rohit Sharma: 35 balls vs Sri Lanka
Sudesh Wickramasekara: 35 balls vs Turkey
Johnson Charles: 39 balls vs South Africa
Records fell like nine pins as Charles continued his assault on the South African bowlers. A total of 11 times the ball siled into the stands after hitting Charles' willow.
Most sixes in a T20I knock for West Indies:
Evin Lewis: 12 vs India
Chris Gayle: 11 vs England
Johnson Charles: 11 vs South Africa
Chris Gayle: 11 vs South Africa
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