Colombo-After crushing Australia in the semifinal, the pumped-up team from West Indies has sounded the battle cry against Sri Lanka with their explosive opener Chris Gayle saying that his team will definitely win the World T20 tomorrow.
Opener Chris Gayle, who hammered an unbeaten 75 to help West Indies reach the finals, yesterday sounded the battle cry against Sri Lanka, saying his team will definitely win the World Twenty20 tomorrow. Riding on Gayle's blistering 41-ball 75, West Indies mauled Australia by 74 runs in the second semifinals to set up a summit clash with Sri Lanka tomorrow and the flamboyant opener declared they will definitely come out on top.
"World Cup is definitely ours, sorry Sri Lanka, but I think it is our World Cup. The support will be more for West Indies on Sunday. We love Sri Lanka, but sorry, it is going to be West Indies all the way. The final will be a good final but we will be on top, definitely," Gayle said after the match. "We needed this victory badly and I am overall happy with the performance. Australia have been playing well so far, and to turn the table on them today was very pleasant," he added.
Gayle said the key for him was to hang around till the end of the innings. "Initially I didn't get many strikes. The key for me was to be there till the 20th over. Support from Marlon (Samuels) and (Dwayne) Bravo was good and finally (Kieron) Pollard gave us a winning total. I didn't get strike but I didn't panic, the key was to take it as it comes and be there till the end," he said. Gayle said his aim was to target the spinners. "(Shane) Watson has been a genuine wicket-taker and (Mitchell) Starc has been bowling well up front, so we needed to target Hussey and spinner. We actually had a bit of power there and it paid off for us. I am happy with the team's performance," he said.
West Indies skipper Darren Sammy also praised his team for an overall performance yesterday. "We did what we had to do, everybody turned up. Chris and Marlon set it up for us and then the bowling turned up too," Sammy said with a smile. "If you look at the quality in the dressing room, if we go out on the field and execute we can beat any team and we did play like a dangerous force today," he added.
Crestfallen after the defeat, Australian skipper George Bailey said: "We were absolutely outplayed." "Gayle was subdued for a while but while he's at the crease he's always in your mind. But we set ourselves to get to the semi-finals and I don't think there's one area specifically where we can improve on. But from tonight you can probably say all three!" he added. West Indies posted 205 for four-highest score of the tournament-as Samuels (26), Bravo (37) and Pollard (38) destroyed the Australian attack.
"It was actually a slow track. So to be there to the end was helpful, so the rest of the guys can come and play around me," Gayle said. "It was a slow start. I didn't get the actual strike, which was needed actually in the first six overs. But more important for me was not to panic and lose focus," said Gayle who was adjudged man of the match for his entertaining knock that included six sixes.
"They had a plan, the more I will be off strike, bit of better for them. More so they loved to get me out as quickly as possible. "Marlon Samuels came and played a few boundaries, and then took off pressure from me. That partnership with Bravo really helped a lot and (the one with) Pollard..."
Pollard provided the late charge by hitting three successive sixes in the final over of the innings before being dismissed for a 15-ball 38. Gayle said to get the best out of Pollard, all he needed was to remind the all-rounder of his 18-ball 54 against New South Wales in the 2009 Champions League Twenty20.
"What I said to him when he came in... for today I need old Pollard back. He came in and did play up his part," Gayle said. "Hopefully he can give us that boost again and take us to the trophy," said Gayle, who broke into "Gangman Style" dance on Friday, imitating the moves from South Korean singer Psy's music video. "It depends on what type of mood I am in... It's a good, dance I enjoy it and everybody enjoys it," he added. (CMC)