Chris Gayle enrols himself in an elite list - is April 18 the reason?

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) announced their return in style as they defeated Gujarat Lions (GL) by 21 runs on Tuesday. The most important takeaway for RCB was - Chris Gayle was back in form and what a way to re-boost himself and his side! Skipper Virat Kohli could not have asked for more.

 

It was a special day for Gayle, as the big Jamaican enrolled himself in an elite list of players. The southpaw became the first cricketer in the history of the game to have scored 10,000 runs in T20 cricket.

 

Here is that elite list of cricketers:

First batsman to score 10,000 runs in:

First Class Cricket: William Gilbert Grace.

List A: Glenn Turner. 

Tests: Sunil Gavaskar. 

ODIs: Sachin Tendulkar. 

T20s: Christopher Henry Gayle.

 

However, there is something even more special about this feat that Gayle achieved on Tuesday. April 18 holds a very special place in the history of the gentlemen's game. By now, the date is now considered to be lucky by many cricketers across the globe as a number of records were scripted on this particular date over the years.

 

Here are some of the cricketing landmarks achieved on April 18 before this:

1986 - Javed Miandad's last-ball six.

1992 - South Africa's readmission in International Cricket after 20 years. 

1994 - Brian Lara's iconic innings of 375* against England at St. John's Antigua.  

2008 - Brendon McCullum's 158* - the first ever IPL century and the first in T20 cricket for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB. 

2017 - Chris Gayle becomes the first batsman to have scored 10000 T20 runs. 

 

Watch the highlights of the GL vs RCB HERE.