Complete carnage! Trinidad's Iraq Thomas smashes 21-ball century, breaks Gayle's record

The Universe boss has been eclipsed, by a young man from his own land back in the Caribbean. Chris Gayle, who is almost synonymous to quick-fire yet devastating knocks, held the record for the fastest century in T20 cricket for the fastest century. But not any more after a cricketer from Trinidad and Tobago named Iraq Thomas, smashed the record with a twenty-one-ball ton, reported NDTV. Gayle’s 30-ball ton for Royal Challengers Bangalore against the now defunct Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League season was the fastest century in T20 cricket, until Thomas bettered the feat, needing nine deliveries lesser than the big-hitting West Indian opener. [caption id=“attachment_2758114” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Trinidad and Tobago cricketer Iraq Thomas. Image Courtesy: Twitter[/caption] In a match organised by the Tobago Cricket Association, Iraq Thomas who was playing for Scarborough/Mason Hall United when he made a complete mockery of their opponent Spyeside who put up a competitive target of 152. However, Thomas smacked 131 off 31 deliveries as his side chased down the target in just eight overs. A 53 ball 97 was Thomas’ best before he ran riot against Spyeside and the special knock was initially beyond the realms of imagination of the twenty-three-year old. “I never thought I would get the runs as quickly as I did but after hitting a few, I realised that something special can happen out there and it came through,” Thomas told the local Trinidad media. Speaking of records, Thomas’ ton goes down as the fastest century in all formats of the game. The twenty one ball hundred that Thomas scored not just beats Chris Gayle, but also pips Brendon McCullum and AB De Villiers who hold the record for the fastest century in the other two formats of the game. Brendom McCullum scored a 54-ball century in a Test match against Australia earlier this year, while AB De Villers’ 31-ball hundred against the West Indies in 2015 is the fastest hundred by any batsman in ODIs. Albeit at a much lower level of cricket, Iraq Thomas has set the biggest hitters around the world a target to be scaled down.