Chris Gayle starred with the bat as West Indies registered a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Australia in the third T20I at St Lucia on Monday (July 12).
Opting to bat first, Australia posted a modest 141/6 in 20 overs. It was a listless batting performance from the visitors as Moises Henriques was the top scorer with 29-ball 33.
For the West Indies, Hayden Walsh (2-18) and Dwayne Bravo (1-17) were the pick of the bowlers.
In reply, the hosts rode on Gayle’s breathtaking 38-ball 67 to overhaul the target with 31 deliveries to spare.
WATCH – Dwayne Bravo, Fabian Allen team up to grab a brilliant rebound catch to dismiss Aaron Finch
Speaking after the game, Gayle, who has registered the scores of 8, 5, 11, 4 and 13 in his last five T20I innings, credited regular skipper Kieron Pollard and Bravo for his return to form.
“It's a great journey. I'm so happy and so pleased to get a series win. Congrats to the stand-in captain for achieving this against a great team. From a personal point of view, we all know that I was struggling, so it was pleasing to get runs. I want to dedicate these runs to my teammates, especially Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo,” Gayle said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“To Kieron Pollard, he played a big part as well even though he played in none of these games. He stand (sic) tall for the person I am and what I've achieved. He let me know where I stand within this team and he wanted me to go and express myself. So I'm very grateful for that pep talk because sometimes it doesn't matter how great you are, you need a bit of a talk sometimes. That coming from Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo with big support in the media as well. I have to commend those senior guys, they played a fantastic part in what happened today. With this strength and unity, we're playing some great all-round cricket and I'm really pleased to win this series,” he added.
Chris Gayle will turn 42 in the coming September but the southpaw is still going strong, smashing the bowlers all over the park. His brutal knock in the third T20I was laced with 4 fours and 7 sixes.
"I don't mind the numbers, soon to be 42 so you all should be glad that Chris Gayle is still playing. My real target is the World Cup and hope I'll last till then. They (Australia) lost a lot of players and are looking to rebuild. With the World Cup looming, this is a good test for them," he said.
With this victory, West Indies also took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. The penultimate and final T20I will be played at the same venue on July 14 and July 16.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
