Gayle's extraordinary display, and other numbers

Since his entry into this year's IPL, Chris Gayle has had a tremendous impact on Bangalore's fortunes. They have won all five matches that he has played, and in those five games, he scored 328 runs at an average of 82 and strike-rate of 205.00. In contrast, he scored 292 runs in nine innings in the last season and just 171 in seven innings in IPL 2009. In a week dominated by Gayle's hitting, Virender Sehwag also played an outstanding knock against Deccan and led Delhi's successful chase of 175 after they were 25 for 3 at one stage. A look at some of the key numbers from the IPL so far.

*All stats are updated till the end of the 51st match, between Pune and Punjab, on May 8.

56 - The number of boundary runs per innings that Gayle has scored in IPL 2011. Shaun Marsh is second (33.6) and Sehwag is third (31.2). (minimum qualification: 150 runs scored in boundaries)

66 - The most runs scored in the first three overs of an innings in the IPL, by Bangalore against Kochi. Punjab are second, with 52 runs in their first three overs against Rajasthan.

5 - The number of centuries scored in IPL 2011, with 23 matches to go. In comparison, six centuries were scored in IPL 2008 and four in IPL 2010. Only two centuries were scored in IPL 2009.

275 - Gayle's strike-rate in his innings of 44 against Kochi, the highest for an innings of over 40 in IPL 2011 and the fourth-highest overall. Kieron Pollard's strike-rate of 346.15 in his 45 off 13 balls in IPL 2010 is the highest for a 40-plus score.

26 - The most sixes by a batsman in IPL 2011. Gayle holds the record, and is followed by Sehwag (18) and Paul Valthaty (14). Sanath Jayasuriya holds the record for the most sixes in a single IPL season with 31 in 14 innings. Gayle's 26 sixes in IPL 2011 have come in just five innings.

4 - The number of bowlers who have conceded ten runs or fewer in a four-over spell in IPL 2011 so far. Rahul Sharma picked up 2 for 7 in his four overs and is the only spinner - the others are Brett Lee, Sreesanth and Lasith Malinga. Lee is the only bowler to achieve the feat twice across the four seasons.

41 - The number of deliveries remaining after Bangalore's nine-wicket win over Kochi, and Pune's seven-wicket win over Punjab - it's the most after a 100-plus target has been chased in IPL 2011. The record in all IPL matches is 48, when Deccan chased Mumbai's score of 154 in 2008 with eight overs to spare.

16.6 - The number of extras per match in IPL 2011, the lowest among all seasons. The highest was in 2008 - 19.4.

4.66 - The difference in Bangalore's run-rate in the first six overs this year after Gayle's entry (10.20) and before (5.54). Their average has also gone up from 13.30 to 102.00.

28 - The most catches taken by a fielder, by Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma. Jacques Kallis is next, with 23 catches. Sehwag has taken the most catches in IPL 2011 (9) followed by S Anirudha and Kallis (8).

37 - The most runs scored in an over across all seasons of the IPL, by Bangalore against Kochi on May 8, 2011. Kolkata are second, with 33 runs off one over against Punjab in 2010.

29.92 - The runs per wicket in Bangalore, the highest among all venues. Hyderabad and Mohali are next, with an average of 28.43 and 27.48 runs per wicket.

1.27 - The win-loss ratio of chasing teams in IPL 2011, the second-highest across all seasons. The ratio is highest for IPL 2008 (1.63) and lowest for IPL 2010 (0.90).

32.60 - The average balls per innings faced by Marsh, the highest among all batsmen who have faced at least 750 balls across the four seasons of the IPL. Tendulkar is next, with a corresponding figure of 28.2.

54.70 - Michael Hussey's average in the IPL (all seasons), which is the highest among batsmen with at least 500 runs. Marsh is next, with an average of 52.20.

7 - The number of bowlers with 50 or more wickets in the IPL. RP Singh leads the list with 58 wickets in 53 innings. Lasith Malinga is second, with 57 wickets in 36 innings.

50 - The number of fifty-plus scores for Chennai, the highest among all teams. Delhi are next with 46 fifty-plus scores.

94- The number of runs in fours and sixes scored by Gayle for Bangalore against Punjab. This is the highest runs in boundaries in an innings in IPL 2011 followed by Valthaty and Sehwag (88). The record is 118, by Brendon McCullum, for Kolkata versus Bangalore in IPL 2008.

6- The number of players to score over 400 runs and pick up 25 or more wickets in the IPL. Among these players, Kallis has scored the most runs (1473) while Irfan Pathan has the most wickets (54).

14- The most fifty-plus stands for a team in IPL 2011. Chennai hold the record, while Mumbai are next with 11. Across all seasons, Chennai are by far on top with 62 fifty-plus stands, followed by Rajasthan with 48.