Chris Gayle showed once again showed why he is a force in T20 cricket as he guided the West Indies to a commanding 3-0 lead over Australia in the five-match Twenty20 (T20) International series on Monday evening.
Gayle smashed 67 runs from 38 balls to set up the West Indies run chase which eventually got to 142 for four in 14 overs and five deliveries, chasing 141 made by the visitors.
The left-hander became the first cricketer ever to surpass 14,000 T20 runs in the process.
Captain Nicholas Pooran got the winning four to end at an unbeaten 32 from 27 balls, which sealed the series for the home side.
He and Gayle shared in a 67 run third-wicket stand which was the icing on the cake despite rookie pacer Riley Meredith bagging three wickets for 48 runs.
Also on the bowling side, leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr put in another good shift with the ball by bagging two wickets to stifle the Australian innings.
Walsh sent back captain Aaron Finch for 30 and Alex Carey for 13, as the Aussies once again stuttered in the middle overs.
Moises Henriques, with 33, and Ashton Turner, 24, tried to keep Australia in the game but Dwayne Bravo was involved in the fall of both wickets, as the visitors crawled to just 141 for the loss of six wickets.
Man of the match, Chris Gayle said the inspiration from his teammates allowed him to perform and get to the milestone.
“From a personal point of view, I was struggling with the bat and to be able to get some runs today is very pleasing,” he said.
“I want to dedicate this half-century and milestone to my teammates, especially Kieron Pollard. We had a team meeting before the game and he stood tall, and that’s what a leader should do. He said he was behind me all the way and he wanted me to go out and express myself.”
