Before the World T20 started, the West Indies were enduring a miserable tour of England. They lost the Test series and the One-dayers.
Gayle batted for the cause of Twenty20, emphasising how it was the face of the game’s future. Now, the big-hitting Jamaican has an opportunity to show how strong his romance with T20 exactly is, when his side takes on an in-form Sri Lanka in the second semifinal at the Oval on Friday.
West Indies have emerged as the party-poopers of the tournament. Everyone was talking about India, South Africa and Sri Lanka being title favourites.
But Gayle’s men played their own brand of attacking and attractive cricket. They have devoured Australia, India and England on their way to the semifinals.
The Oval, in fact, is working out to be a lucky ground for the West Indies. They beat Australia and England at this venue. Gayle will also be looking to avenge the loss the Windies suffered at the hands of the Lankans in the group stage at Nottingham.
For that their batting needs to fire. How their batsmen negotiate Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis will have a huge bearing on the result.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: KC Sangakkara, M Muralitharan, SI de Saram, TM Dilshan, ST Jayasuriya, DPMD Jayawardene, KMDN Kulasekara, MF Maharoof, SL Malinga, AD Mathews, BAW Mendis, J Mubarak, LPC Silva, T Thushara, I Udana
West Indies: CH Gayle, D Ramdin, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, S Chanderpaul, FH Edwards, ADS Fletcher, XM Marshall, KA Pollard, DJG Sammy, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, JE Taylor
