Castries, Saint Lucia: Ernest Hilaire, Deputy Prime minister of Saint Lucia, congratulated Johnson Charles on his maiden century in T20 Cricket format. Yesterday, On March 26, during the match against South Africa, the Saint Lucian-born Johnson Charles playing for West Indies, hits a dominating 100 in just 39 balls.
Deputy PM Hilaire posted a picture of his television screen praising Charles for his outstanding innings on his official Facebook page. He noted: “Congratulations to Johnson Charles on getting the quickest century in West Indian cricket history in his debut Twenty20 match… great done, Jono! 118!”.
Johnson Charles scored 118 runs throughout the course of the game in just 46 balls. A stunning yorker struck him out from South African pacer Marco Jansen.
Johnson Charles set a new record for Saint Lucian cricketers by reaching 100 points in just 39 balls. Charles smacked 10 fours and 11 sixes during his dominant inning. During the 2016 ICC World T20 in Mumbai, the 34-year-old broke the record held by the legendary former West Indies star Chris Gayle, who scored a century on 47 balls against England.
According to Minister Hilaire, Johnson Charles once more brought honour to Saint Lucia on the international scene. He continued by saying that Charles serves as an example for younger generations and inspires them to participate in games and sports and to represent their nation abroad.
Kyle Mayers scores a spectacular 51 runs in just 27 balls, adding to Charles’ enormous 118-run contribution to set a massive target. Romario Shephard contributed to the team’s continued dominance by scoring 41 runs in just 18 balls, bringing the total up to 258 with the loss of five wickets. West Indies gave South Africa an immense target of 259 to chase.
In the Supersport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion, South Africa, the South African team won the match by successfully completing a 259 chase with seven balls remaining. This was the highest chase in T20 history.