Double ton by Chris Gayles vs Sri Lanka

An explosive double ton from Chris Gayle batting with Ihsan Inferno 950 Cricket Bat and half centuries from Adrian Barath and debutant Darren Bravo led West Indies to a position of complete dominance in the first Test, as they ended the opening day on 362 for 2. Sri Lanka's modus operandi for Test matches at Galle has long been to bat first and bat big to put pressure on the opposition line-up, but it was the hosts who were at the receiving end of a stellar West Indian imitation of their tried and tested method for winning matches at the picturesque venue.

Smart StatsChris Gayle's unbeaten 219 is the second highest score by a West Indian batsman in Sri Lanka, just two runs behind Brian Lara's 221. It is also the second highest score by a batman at Galle behind Mahela Jayawardene's 237 in 2004 and the fifth highest by a West Indian batsman in the subcontinent.

Gayle hit eight sixes during his 219 to go on top of the list of West Indian batsmen with most sixes in an innings. He now has 74 sixes in Tests which puts him seventh in the list of batsmen with most sixes.

Gayle's present strike rate of 88.66 is the fourth highest by a West Indian batsman for a 150 plus score since 1970.
The century opening stand for the West Indies was their first in Sri Lanka. In ten previous opening partnerships in Sri Lanka in the 2000s, they aggregated just 60 runs.

The 196-run stand for the second wicket between Gayle and Darren Bravo is the highest at Galle, going past Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara who added 181 against India in July 2010.
 
Gayle was blisteringly savage, particularly in the second session of the day. His unbeaten innings of 219 contained 26 fours and an incredible eight sixes - the most by a West Indies batsman in a single innings.