Gayle looks to pick up from where he left off
West Indies have had a smooth run in the tournament so far. Their wins have come with relative ease, if the trials of other sides are brought into perspective. In large part it is due to the confidence the side gained in their opening game that saw Chris Gayle single-handedly lead them to victory over England at theWakhe de stadium.
Like Virat Kohli for India, it is Gayle who is the mainstay for the Islanders. However since the blitzkrieg against England that resulted in an unbeaten 100, the rest of the campaign has been low-key. Following the knock against England, Gayle did not bat against Sri Lanka. Against South Africa he surrendered for just four. He chose to sit out for the inc onsequential match against Afghanistan, which saw West Indies slump to a six-run loss.
Gayle had similarly failed to make a mark when his side faced India in the warm-up tie before the tournament in Kolkata. It was Jasprit Bumrah who had go this goat. Although the 36-year-old had settled down, he failed to read Bumrah who shattered the stumps. India had gone onto win the tie as West Indies batting line-up failed to combine after his dismissal.
India skipper MS Dhoni will be banking on that experience when faced with Thursday’s challenge.
On Tuesday, Gayle seemed to be in a mood to erase all the rustiness. The Jamaican, who spent a lot of time in the nets working on his batting, admitted that his lack of game-time was a worry.
“In the tournament so far I have only batted twice. So, I haven’t really got a full knock in all four games. But this is a perfect opportunity again to come where I actually started the tournament to try and pick up where I left off and get another big one for the team,” said Gayle.
“India have got a lot momentum. There’s no doubt about it they have the momentum and a lot of confidence coming into this game as well. They are a very good all-round team that makes them the favourites. It is always going to be difficult to beat them here, but West Indies are always ready to create an upset,” added Gayle.
India’s track record at the Wankhede in the recent past has not been the most positive. India lost the last competitive game played here — an ODI against South Africa. Earlier this month, they also lost a warm-up game against the same opposition. West Indies by comparison, led by Gayle, have made most the conditions here.