Cricket is a game of uncertainty but the cricketing greats have achieved the ten thousand runs mark with great certainty in International cricket. Sunil Gavaskar from India achieved the first 10000 runs in test cricket, when he achieved the feat in Ahmedabad. Again, Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score 10,000 runs in ODIs, while playing a match during the India – Australia bi-lateral series at home. Now it is the turn of Chris Gayle to achieve the monumental record in T-20 cricket as he scored a scintillating 70 odd runs playing for Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Incidentally, WG Grace, the bearded maestro achieved the feat in first class cricket. In all, the bearded heroes Gayle did it in style in quick fashion and the long bearded WG Grace achieved the feat in first class cricket in England. Close shaven Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, both from Mumbai did it in India and in front of the home ground. Gayle was a prolific scorer in IPL with 3563 runs in 96 games all over the world and he is the linchpin of the Bangalore side. With 743 sixes he entertained the crowd with almost same number of boundaries. When Chris Gayle bat and that too in form it is entertainment all the way. IPL 10 fans enjoyed the luxury of the big hitter achieving the landmark in style and that too in the company of Indian skipper of Virat Kohli.
In International cricket many records have been achieved to be broken in the next decade or so. But these landmarks achieved by the great cannot be erased as the famous four are the first to achieve the monumental landmark. Scoring over 10,000 runs across a playing career in any format of cricket is considered a significant achievement. As of May 2016, twelve players from six different teams have scored more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket. The Indians and Australians lead the list with three players each. West Indies and Sri Lanka each have two players followed by one from both South Africa and England. Bangladesh, New Zealand and Zimbabwe are yet to have a player breach the 10,000-run mark in the format. Alastair Cook was the last one to join the party.
In one day cricket, Tendulkar took the fewest innings (259) and he was the first to achieve the landmark while Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene took the most innings to achieve the feat (333). Tendulkar holds multiple records—the most appearances, the best average, and the highest number of both centuries and half-centuries. Rahul Dravid—the third Indian to reach the milestone after Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly—is the fastest in terms of time span, taking 10 years and 317 days. Brian Lara’s time span of 16 years and 17 days is the slowest among all. As of August 2016, Tendulkar leads the list with 18,426 runs, followed by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 14,234. Sangakkara’s compatriot Tillakaratne Dilshan was the latest player to achieve this feat.
T-20 is not a cup for tea most famous cricket players playing test and one day cricket. Very few have mastered the art of quick scoring in the shortest form of the game and Chris Gayle did it in style in an illustrious career. Hit out or get out game of T-20 cricket needs batting consistency to achieve such landmark like scoring 10000 career runs. Gayle as an opener had the opportunity to bat most number of times and that helped him to become the number one to make the list. Scoring over 10,000 runs across a playing career in any format of cricket is considered a significant achievement and Gayle joined the select band with a whirlwind innings and that was an entertainment all the way.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
