The 41-year-old Gayle achieved a strike rate of 381.82, smashing six fours and nine sixes in a brutal onslaught on the Arabians bowling that powered TAD, chasing 98 for victory, to 100 for 1 off just 5.3 overs.
The Universe Boss signalled his intent from as early as the first over bowled by Yamin Ahmadzai that went for 18 runs. It was his only over of the match.
In fact, none of the Arabians bowlers got more than one over in as Gayle unleashed his special brand of carnage.
Twenty-seven runs came off Sampal Kami’s over. Paul Stirling hit consecutive fours from his first two balls before a single off the third turned him over to Gayle, who then hit him for three consecutive sixes.
Mossaddek Hossain bowled the third over and after conceding two runs from his first delivery, then had Stirling caught at cow corner for 11 when the score was 47. Unfortunately, for him, the batsman crossed while the ball was in the air putting Mossaddek squarely in the crosshairs of the Universe Boss, whose 50 came up from just 12 balls.
His next four balls went for 20 runs – 4, 6, 4, 6 – as the early promise was cut to shreds by Gayle’s blade.
In the over that followed, Maroof Merchant’s conceded three runs from the first four balls before it was spoiled by consecutive sixes from Gayle.
Ishan Malhotra bowled the fifth over and only conceded 10 runs with one four coming from Gayle’s bat.
Mercifully, the nightmare ended for Maratha Arabians mid-way the sixth over when Gayle slogged Mutkar Ali over midwicket for his ninth six.
Joe Clarke was unbeaten on 5 at the end.
Earlier, Obed McKoy 2 for 20 helped restrict Maratha Arabians to 97 for 4. Alishan Sharafu was their leading scorer with 33 from 23 balls. Mohammed Hafeez (20) and Shoaib Malik 15* helped push the score along but were stymied by the bowling of Tom Helm, whose two overs only cost eight runs.
Jamie Overton and Naveen-ul-Haq each took 1 for 21 from their respective quotas.
With his team needing 108 for victory, Gayle hit two fours and two sixes to take his side to 111-3 after Phil Salt put them well on their way with a blistering knock of 63 from just 20 balls. Salt hit four fours and seven sixes before he was out with just six runs needed.
Salt and Gayle, who was unbeaten for the second match running, put on 70 in just four overs as Team Abu Dhabi raced to their sixth win of the season.
Mark Deyal was the best of the Braves’ bowlers with 2-16.
Earlier, Chennai Braves were asked to bat and only managed 107-6. Only Mohammad Shahzad with 53 from 30 balls. Shahzad hit four fours and four sixes that took Braves to 75-3 inside in the eighth over.
Despite the win that put them on 12 points, Team Abu Dhabi slipped to second place on net run-rate behind Deccan Gladiators.
Gayle hit three fours and five sixes in a desperate chase but other than Liam Livingston, who scored 20 from six balls and Phil Salt’s 17 from seven, the Universe Boss got little support from his fellow batsmen as Team Abu Dhabi fell to only its first defeat this season.
James Faulkner 2-23 and Benny Howell 2-13 swung the match in favour of the winners.
Bangla Tigers took first strike and owed their score of 130-5 to Hazratullah Zazai, who plundered 41 runs, hitting three fours and three sixes from the 20 balls he faced. Willy Jacks was even more brutal scoring 43 from just 17 balls from which he hit five fours and three sixes.
Some late-order hitting from Faf du Plessis, who raced to 22 from just eight balls, spurred Tigers to their winning total.
In the other match on Friday, Andre Russell took 2-10 and was unbeaten on three as the Deccan Gladiators defeated the Chennai Braves by five wickets.
The Braves were bowled out for 57 in their 10 overs with Bhanuka Rajapaksa being the only batter in double figures as, along with Russell’s two wickets, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva took 3-9 and Rumman Raees 2-20.
In reply, the Gladiators achieved the winning target in just six overs with David Wiese top-scoring with 20. Tom Banton made 19.
The win was Bulls' third in a row, and placed them comfortably at the top of the table, at least for the time being.
Tigers were going fine at 28 for 2 after three overs, and with Jordan Cox, David Miller and Dasun Shanaka, among others, to follow, looked set to put up another big total after scoring 143 for 4 in their win over Dubai Gladiators on Thursday.
But Gleeson changed the script in the space of five balls in the fourth over, getting rid of Miller, Shanaka and Cox, in that order, to leave Tigers completely off-kilter at 29 for 5.
Between Daniel Sams (20 not out in 15 balls) and Carlos Brathwaite (21 in 17), Tigers did fight back to get to 81 for 7, but it was never going to be enough against Bulls' powerful batting line-up.
Quinton de Kock and Johnson Charles fell inside two overs, but James Vince (17 in nine), Rilee Rossouw (21* in 11) and captain Rovman Powell (37* in 11) made sure Bulls got to the target quickly - in just six overs.
For Tigers, it was a second loss in three games, and at the end of it, they were placed seventh on the eight-team table.
Earlier on Saturday, explosive 30s from captain Nicholas Pooran and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, followed by Andre Fletcher's 12-ball 41, set up a crushing win for Deccan Gladiators over Team Abu Dhabi.
Pooran dashed out of the blocks taking left-arm finger-spinner Roelof van der Merwe for two fours and two sixes in the first over. Rumman Raees then dealt a double-blow, removing both Pooran and Andre Russell off successive balls in the fourth over, but Kohler-Cadmore and Fletcher proceeded to re-establish Gladiators' dominance.
Six of the 12 balls that Fletcher faced were sent to the boundary, including five sixes. Fletcher, Fabian Allen and Kohler-Cadmore all fell in quick succession, but David Wiese provided the final flourish with 15 off six balls.
Abu Dhabi started their chase shakily, losing their top three inside five overs. Leus du Plooy (25), Colin Ingram (19) and captain Dwaine Pretorius (9), fought back to lend some respectability to the scorecard. Sri Lankan slinger Nuwan Thushara, who plays for Jaffna Kings in the LPL, was the pick of the bowlers for Gladiators, coming away with 2 for 5 in his two overs.
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Chasing Team Abu Dhabi’s score of 103-7 from their 10 overs, Northern Warriors’ opening pair of Lewis and Hazratullah Zazai raced to 106-0 with six balls remaining to pull off their second victory in consecutive matches.
Lewis began as the more aggressive member of the opening pair but tapered off as Zazai, Power Hitter of the Match, took over. He hit three of his five fours and two of his three sixes while personally plundering 28 runs in the final three overs.
His power hitting propelled Northern Warriors from 69-0 at the end of the sixth over to victory, his personal tally being 52 not out from 27 balls.
Lewis also faced 27 balls for his 46 that included five fours and three two sixes.
Team Abu Dhabi’s total was built on an opening stand of 39 from 22 balls between Tom Banton and Alex Hales. However, once Banton was dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi for a 17-ball 33, wickets fell regularly as the Northern Warriors bowling cut into the line-up.
Hales made 30 before he too was dismissed by Shamsi. Colin Ingram made 10 and Asif Khan run out for 19 to be the only other batter in double figures.
Shamsi was the best of the bowlers with 2-17.
The win means the Northern Warriors sit atop the eight-team table with four points from their two matches. Team Abu Dhabi are with a win from their two games and sit seventh on the table.
It was Rovman Powell, though, who gave his team a chance while Simmons took them home.
Needing 61 from the last five overs, Northern Warriors, chasing 115 for victory, saw Powell smash 49 from 24 balls. His knock included five fours and two sixes. Together with Simmons, they took the score from 23 for 2 mid-way the third over to 99 for 2 from 8.5 overs.
However, when Powell was bowled off the inside edge from the last ball of Obed McCoy’s allotment, Simmons still had it all to do with the Warriors needing 16 from the last six balls.
The Trinidadian veteran duly obliged hitting two sixes from the second and fourth balls of Tom Helm's final to propel his team to victory.
Earlier Fabian Allen took 4 for 13 as Team Abu Dhabi fell away from 55 without loss after 2.5 overs to 114 for 7. Paul Stirling got TAD off to flyer smashing six sixes and three fours in his 13-ball knock. However, once he got out caught at mid-off from the bowling of Rayad Emrit, TAD struggled.
Gayle was out next ball for 7 caught at long-on by Allen from a Junaid Siddique delivery.
Allen then struck with the ball taking two wickets in each of his two overs as TAD slumped to 107 for 6 at the end of the ninth over.
Northern Warriors, a team that boasts five Caribbean players – Simmons, Powell, Allen, Pooran, and Emrit – will now face Delhi Bulls captained by Dwayne Bravo.
