Friday Fights | The Big ODI Fight – Shane Watson vs Chris Gayle

Two of the most celebrated and revered openers of modern white-ball cricket, Shane Watson and Chris Gayle have left an indelible mark on ODIs. While Watson has called it quits long back, Gayle at the age of 41 is still continuing strong. But this fight is not about his longevity, rather it is about who gets the better of the other? 

Well, Watson doesn’t usually get his foot off to a great start, often putting himself in undesirable positions. But today’s he had none of that, determined and hungry, the Australian has put the right foot in front, with an average of 40.54 taking a plumpy shot at his West Indian opponent, who has only 37.83, a statement!

ROUND 2 -> CAREER BOWLING AVERAGE: ONE BRINGS ANOTHER

One certainly brings another and in the most Watson of manner, he has struck with his golden arm. More importantly, in this round, he has struck with his golden gloves, albeit without a lot of bling with an average of 31.79 in comparison to Gayle’s 35.48. You can see the frustration in the Caribbean right now mahn!

ROUND 3 -> RUNS PER INNINGS: WAT-SON? ASKS GAYLE!

The charisma that oozes around Gayle is indomitable. As much as he can crib and cry about the first two rounds, he will never give up, that is the Jamaican in short. Now that has translated into his boxing, as the long leavers have stunned Shane and left him in pain. 35.64 runs per innings in comparison to 34.60, hahahah!

ROUND 4-> BOWLING STRIKE-RATE IN WINS: GAYLE BREAKS WATSON’S GOLDEN ARM

The golden arm is where it stands at the moment - Watson with the bowling advantage and Gayle with the batting. Oh wait, that’s until now, the scenes have flipped and so has the crowd, cheering for Gayle as he breaks Watson’s golden arm. A strike-rate of 33.7 in comparison to 34.5, that’s some stats!

ROUND 5-> RUNS PER INNINGS IN ICC COMPETITION: THIRD TIME UNLUCKY FOR WATSON

I’m not going to lie, Watson was in tremendous pressure before this round. He had a lead, he had the upper hand but Gayle is just taller than him, isn’t it? That’s why he keeps striking, keeps pulling the man down and with this round, he has also put a certain kind of doubt in his head. 38 runs in comparison to 34, Gayle gets another one!

ROUND 6-> WICKETS PER INNINGS: THANOS WATTOS

Two people in the entire universe possess that powerful arm - Thanos and Shane Watson. While Thanos was defeated, so was Watson in the last three rounds but the Australian never bows freaking down. The show is on and so is his record, with 1.03 wickets every innings in comparison to Gayle’s 0.83. We have a fight? Yes.

ROUND 7-> BATTING STRIKE-RATE: WATSON POWERS TO ANOTHER W

W after W, yet another W, sings Watson as he rallies around the ring against a bulky figure of Gayle. It certainly feels rhythmic but you don’t want the Australian to be singing in the ring. However, if you have a strike-rate of 90, three more than your opponent, we can let you do that at least. With that, it’s advantage, Watson. 

ROUND 8-> AWAY BATTING AVERAGE: HATTRICK WITH THE BAT AND BALL

You didn’t get it, did you? The Queenslander is on a spectacular roll both with bat and ball. Last two rounds his display was outstanding, you reckon, this just tops it all. An away batting average of 39 is enough to go past Gayle, who has just 38 against his name. This is getting tricky, ain’t it?

ROUND 9-> NO OF BOUNDARIES PER INNINGS: NOT YET, ANNOUNCES GAYLE

The hungry beast in Gayle is starting to make a return, you could feel that something is about to come. Can Watson withstand the pressure or meltdown? Wait hang on, did we just witness? Is it Muhammad Ali? Oops sorry, for a moment Gayle really looked like he was a possessed version of Ali and certainly has put a punch through Watson’s face. 4.96 boundaries in comparison to 4.14. 

FINAL ROUND-> ECONOMY RATE IN WORLD CUP: GAYLE #ENDSIT

It was coming, it was coming for a while now and Gayle who really had lost momentum in the middle of this bout. But this is the most fitting of rounds, the World Cup, a place which breaks or makes several careers. It has come down to this - who has a better economy rate with the ball? Watson, the perennial wicket-taker or Gayle, the run-maker? It is the West Indian and it is indeed a classical finish, with 4.93 in comparison to the Australian’s 5.16

Okay then, aren’t we making a bit of habit out of this? Another tie but certainly not the least interesting of the ones that we have had before. Such match-ups often end up being so close and it is only fitting that we don’t have any losers here. If you are still soaking in India’s win against Australia, this must come as a real treat. Sadly, that’s all we have, thanks for tuning in and we will be back next week for another cracker! Hang on and read our other stuff till then cause the IPL is just heating up!