Gayle's glorious run in ODIs

Chris Gayle: next only to Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs averages over the last five years © AFP

With three magnificent centuries in the Champions Trophy, Chris Gayle stole the show quite splendidly and showed that there is much more to the West Indian batting line-up than Brian Lara. Once considered an erratic hit-or-miss player capable in equal measure of an utterly captivating century or a miserable run of low scores, Gayle has slowly transformed into a far more responsible and dependable batsman, but without losing that aggressive streak that makes him such a terror for opposition bowlers.

When he started off in one-day internationals in 1999, Gayle did little immediately to suggest he would achieve such tremendous success - in his first eight matches he totalled 62 runs for an average of 7.75, and a highest of 22. The table below divides his career into 30-match periods, and in the first lot, the numbers were distinctly lacklustre. His first hundred came against lowly Kenya in his 32nd match, but since then the transformation has been remarkable. He suffered a slight blip between matches 91 and 120, when his career average dropped almost two runs, but since then he has rediscovered his form, with a conversion rate of half-centuries to hundreds which suggests a much greater appetite for runs than before. (Click here for Gayle's cumulative career average.)

Ask anyone to name the top three ODI batsmen over the last five years, and it's unlikely that Gayle's name will figure in the list. The numbers, though, tell a different story: among players who've played at least 75 ODIs during this period, only Sachin Tendulkar averages more than Gayle's 44.79. In this duration, Lara has only achieved an average of 37.03 in 93 games, lower even than what Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul managed.

The problem for Gayle, though, has been his less-than-impressive numbers against the top teams. He only averages 30.89 (combined) against Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa, but manages 55.91 against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. At 27, though, Gayle is entering what is usually the most productive phase for batsmen. If he continues in a similar vein over the next five years, he could well wipe out those blips from his career stats by the time he is done. (Click here for Gayle's match-by-match cumulative record.)

Unbeatable Australians
Despite Gayle's best effort, the Australian juggernaut continues to roll on - their Champions Trophy triumph ensured that they have lost only two of their last 25 final matches. The last time they were beaten in a one-off final was in August 1999, when Sri Lanka got past them to lift the Aiwa Cup in Colombo.

Not only have the Australians made it a habit to nail the big games, they also do it in sickeningly convincing fashion. A Numbers Game column last year had made that point, and the table below has the updated numbers, which clearly show that the bigger the occasion, the higher the Australians rise.

When losing the toss is a boon
The Champions Trophy was unusual for the low scores and the manner in which ball dominated bat, but it was also a strange tournament for the number of times the captain got his decision at the toss completely wrong. Teams which chose to field first fearing the dew later in the evening often found the pitch being more juicy and responsive to fast bowling under the lights, while the decision to bat first went awry as teams got bundled out cheaply and reduced the game into a no-contest. In the 21 games played in the tournament, only six went in favour of the team winning the toss - that's an appalling 28.57%. Among all multi-team tournaments (involving more than three teams) which comprised at least 15 games, this was easily the worst one for the team winning the toss.