Jos Buttler one of the best strikers of the ball but not close to Universe Boss: Chris Gayle

The hundredth ODI encounter between Windies and England at the National Cricket Stadium, Grenada, on Wednesday turned out to be a clash of centurions. After England produced two of them in captain Eoin Morgan (103) and Jos Buttler (150), it was veteran Chris Gayle’s turn to take the battle to the opponents’ camp by slamming 162. It was the Three Lions who eventually prevailed by winning the game by 29 runs but the showdown of the big hitters was something that made the match one of the most memorable ones in the rivalry between the old foes.

As true sportsmen, both centurions praised each other over their eye-catching performances. Buttler, who called his 77-ball knock ‘hectic’ and praised Gayle saying he hasn’t seen anybody hitting sixes as easy the Caribbean giant does, the latter reciprocated. While Buttler and Morgan hit 18 sixes in total during the England innings, Gayle alone belted 14 deliveries out of the ground to pick up his second century of the ongoing series. England scored 418 for 6 in 50 overs and the Windies were all out for 389 in 48.

He’s a key player, batted superbly well

Gayle also lauded Buttler for his match-winning potential after the game. “Buttler is superb. You can’t take away the fact that he’s one of the best strikers in the world today. But he’s not close to the Universe Boss though,” Gayle was quoted as saying by icc-cricket.com about the 28-year-old batsman who rushed from 51 to hundred in just 15 deliveries. It is not difficult to understand who is that “Universe Boss”. The Windies opener also matched the effort by slamming his ton in just 51 balls, his fastest in the ODI format.

“But he’s a youngster, he’ll get there eventually. He’s showcased his talent all round the world. He’s a game changer, a game-winner, any team needs a Buttler in their team to win them games. He’s a superb player, he’s been in superb form from the last IPL, and he’s done this for England for some time. He’s a key player, batted superbly well and took the game away from us,” Gayle, whose both hundreds went in vain in the current series, said.

Buttler, who has a strike rate of 119 in 126 games with seven hundreds, was picked as the Man of the Match in the fourth ODI. The two teams are scheduled to play their final game in Gros Islet on March 2.

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