Port-of-Spain: Chris Gayle bludgeoned 72 off just 41 balls as West Indies reached 158 for two off 22 overs before rain brought the third and final match of their one-day series against India at the Queen’s Park Oval to a halt on Wednesday.
Gayle, 39, went into the match having become the West Indies leading scorer in one-dayers in the second game at the weekend.
On Wednesday, he hit five sixes and eight fours as he and fellow opener Evin Lewis (43) put on 115 for the first wicket. India hold an unassailable 1-0 lead following the 59-run win via the DLS method in the second ODI at the same venue on Sunday. Rain forced the abandonment of the first match in Guyana as a no-result last week.West Indies batsman Chris Gayle, who is playing his 301st ODI match, donned a jersey with the number 301 on it on Wednesday. “Special Edition! Number 301 on Wedbnesday to mark his 301st ODI! #WIvIND #MenInMaroon #ItsOurGame,” Windies cricket tweeted.West Indies are playing their third ODI against India. Gayle played a brilliant inning in the match before Khaleel Ahmed sent the 39-year-old back to the pavilion.West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first in the last game of three-match ODI series against India here at the Queen’s Park Oval. India has made one change in the squad. Yuzvendra Chahal comes in for left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Virat Kohli said during the toss: “Just an opportunity to come out and do something challenging. We just spoke about how in the last game, after the drinks break, we lost our way a little bit. When you have played cricket for long periods of time, you can make those mistakes, and it brings in the other team.”
On the other hand, Windies made two changes — Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas out, Keemo Paul and Fabian Allen in.
Jason Holder said during the toss: “Looks like a good wicket. Weather is not in our control, so we have to put runs on the board. We’ve done heaps of talking, but it’s time for execution. We need to take games deeper as possible, take responsibilities and bat deep. We’ve got to help one another.”
India’s playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed.
Windies’ playing XI: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Jason Holder (capt), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach. (Agencies)
