IPL 2017: Chris Gayle Becomes First Batsman To Score 10,000 Runs In T20 Cricket, Twitter Goes Gaga

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle's bat finally roared in the IPL 2017 as he trained his guns on Gujarat Lions on Tuesday. After being dropped by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the previous match, not only did he score his first half-century of the the IPL season 10, but also became the first batsman to achieve the milestone of 10,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket. He made 77 off just 38 balls, which included seven huge sixes. The big Jamaican hitter looked in prime form as he reached the 50-run mark in just 23 balls. Earlier, his scores were 32, 6 and 22 in the previous matches of the season and it was Gujarat who had to face the wrath of the West Indian and RCB run machine. As soon as he crossed the mark, Twitter went berserk and congratulatory messages came flooding in.

Chris Gayle becomes first batsman to score 10,000 T20 runs, he reached the milestone in RCB's match against Gujarat Lions. #Gayle10000 #IPL pic.twitter.com/SenPZxLOmJ

— Akber Ali (@AkberAli1214) April 18, 2017

Boom ?? Boss is back in form #Gayle #GLvRCB https://t.co/NUgYyv6Dy4

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 18, 2017

Massive congratulations to @henrygayle on 10000 T20runs. What a player he has been! @RCBTweets

— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) April 18, 2017

Well done to @henrygayle on 10000 t20 runs. Biggest hitter in the game by a long way. #respect

— David Warner (@davidwarner31) April 18, 2017

Who would have imagined that a player would score 10k in T20!! The boss of this game @henrygayle

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 18, 2017

Gayle needed only 63 runs before the start of the IPL 2017 to achieve the milestone but his low scores and being inexplicably dropped from two matches delayed the feat. He has scored most of his T20 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore. When he reached the landmark, he had made 3,283 runs for his IPL franchise, 1,519 for the West Indies national team and 1,452 for his local franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.

No other batsman has crossed 8,000 runs in T20s with the second highest run-scorer after Gayle being New Zealand's Brendon McCullum (7,524). Australian batsman Brad Hodge has 7,338 runs to his name while Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner has 7,156 runs.

The 37-year-old also made the record of becoming the first batsman to score more than 10,000 runs in three formats -- First Class cricket, list- A and Twenty 20s.