'Chill', she told Gayle

'Chill', she told Gayle

Cricketers routinely receive bad press for being arrogant, out of touch and living in a bubble. But in Bangalore on Tuesday, Chris Gayle showed his heart was as big as his hitting. During his murderous over off Rahul Sharma, one of his five sixes was fired straight into the stands – and into the nose of 11-year-old Tia Bhatia. Cameras showed her in distress and then being led away; turned out her nose was broken and she was eventually admitted to a nearby hospital. Word got back to Gayle and, in his comments after being named Man of the Match, he said he'd been distressed by what happened and would visit her in hospital immediately. He kept his word, and then some: he gave her the medal he'd won, and his jacket too. And Tia? Her first word to him, apparently, was "chill". Rumour has it Royal Challengers plan to invite her to their next game as their special guest. That should be the perfect healing touch.