Watch: Jason Roy smashed one of the great T20 hundreds – his first in the format since 2016 – taking down Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rashid Khan en route to setting up a record chase for Quetta Gladiators.

A half-century from Fakhar Zaman and a rapid 41* from Harry Brook set Quetta Gladiators 205 to win, more than they have ever chased in Pakistan Super League history. But Roy, playing his first game at PSL 2022 after arriving from England duty, showed he would not be daunted by the target ahead of them, hitting three of his first four balls faced, all off Shaheen Shah Afridi, for four off six.

The first ball was driven hard but stopped by a diving Mohammad Hafeez in the field, while the second was perhaps the shot of the innings, a checked, lofted straight drive that flew further than seemed possible. Roy put away two full tosses in his next two balls and he was away. He hit two more fours in each of the next two overs before slamming two sixes off Haris Rauf’s first two balls. Two balls and another four later, and Roy had a stunning 20-ball half-century, the milestone brought up just 22 balls into the innings.

Rashid was introduced to try and halt the carnage, but even the leg-spinner hailed as one of the greatest in the format’s history was no match for Roy, who slog-swept his third ball for six.

After five overs Quetta Gladiators had 71-0, the required run rate, which had been over 10, reduced to less than nine an over. The fall of Ahsan Ali – who contributed seven to the 71-run opening stand – and the damage already done prompted Roy to consolidate in partnership with James Vince, though the boundaries still ticked over.

As he neared his hundred, Roy – never one to crawl to a milestone – accelerated once more. Two sixes in two balls brought up three figures off 49 balls, and the Englishman wasn’t quite done yet. A pair of boundaries off Rashid’s last two balls – Roy hit 22 off 13 balls by the leggie all told – brought the equation down to 52 needed off the last six, and though Roy fell soon after, for a 57-ball 116, Vince, who ended unbeaten on 49, was on hand to guide the chase home.

The knock confirmed Roy’s position as one of the most brutal, fearless ball-strikers in the world today, and it was fitting therefore that looking on from the Quetta Gladiators dug-out was Viv Richards, a man who practically invented blistering white-ball stroke-play. Barely a big shot passed by without the cameras panning to the king nodding in approval.

Watch the highlights of the Roy innings below:

 

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