Man of the Series at 39; come on youngsters, what's happening: Chris Gayle

If the recently-concluded ODI series between Windies and was all about Chris Gayle then it is safe to say that the opening batsman has totally lived up to the expectations. All eyes were on the veteran batsman after he announced he would retire from ODIs following this year’s World Cup, thus confirming that the England series would be his last ODI series on the Caribbean soil. Gayle looked a class apart throughout the series and finished it on Saturday with a breathtaking fifty.

Fresh off scoring 419 in the fourth ODI, England would have looked to pile up another big total after Jason Holder invited them to bat on the bouncy pitch and the windy conditions of St Lucia. However, the England batsmen fell like a pack of cards as Windies bowled out the visitors for a paltry 113 in 28.1 overs. Oshane Thomas starred with the ball, picking up five for 21. But that was not the end to England’s misery.

Eoin Morgan & Co. would have hoped a similar performance from their bowlers on the pacer-friendly pitch but were totally blown away. But then again one cannot do anything other than cursing his luck when Universe Boss is in full flow. Gayle was at his devastating best as he made his intention clear by two fours and a six in the very first over. He went on to complete his fifty off just 19 balls, the fastest by a Windies player.

England finally managed to send back Gayle when Mark Wood castled him with a slower delivery. But the damage had already been done as Gayle smashed 77 off just 27 with the help of nine sixes. Speaking at the end of the game while receiving the Man of the Series award, Gayle was at his hilarious best as he taunted the youngsters before getting serious.

“Man of the Series at age 39, come on youngsters what’s happening (laughs). It’s a fantastic series. To be able to tie the series 2-2, both teams played well. Today our bowlers were fantastic. Oshane with his first five-wicket haul, Carlos was brilliant. And the captain and Cottrell as well. Sometimes as a batter you’re weary of small totals. So as I was padding up, I thought about putting them under pressure early,” said the 39-year old. “At one stage I thought is this going to be my last innings for Windies in the Caribbean. Another good turnout today.”

Gayle also said that the performance in the series would make other teams respect Windies in the upcoming World Cup. “We will get a bit of respect going into the World Cup. If we get it right as a unit, we can create some damage in the World Cup. We’re very capable of winning games in England,” he said.

Chris Gayle’s series:

It would not be very wrong to say that the series belonged entirely to Gayle. While no other batsman from either side could score more than 256 runs, Gayle smashed a staggering 424 runs at an average of 106 in just four innings. It included 2 fifties, 2 centuries, 20 fours and a mind-boggling 39 sixes.

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