Cricket World Cup: West Indies Let Down by Shocking Chris Gayle Innings

The West Indies won the toss in their latest Cricket World Cup game against India and chose to bat, with opener Chris Gayle surely desperate to unleash his usual aggressive strokes.

On form, Gayle is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, someone who can take the game away from the opposition in the space of just 10 or 15 overs.

However, against India he was strangely neutered as he made 21 from 27 balls in 44 torturous minutes, and when he departed at 35-3 after nine overs, his side was already in trouble.

Early on, he refused to run singles and instead stayed in the crease, meaning both he and his opening partner Dwayne Smith were marooned and unable to keep the scorecard moving.

At one point, Gayle had just one run from 11 balls, with his first single coming in the sixth over, when the West Indian total was still not in double figures. It was frustrating to watch, and he was almost put of his misery by Mohammed Shami as he swung at a wide one but was dropped by Umesh Yadav.

At the other end, Smith was already gone, having been unable to get up the other end; then Marlon Samuels was run out as he ended up at the same end as the unmoved Gayle.

This seemed to sting the left-hander into action of sorts, as he tried to open his shoulders and push the run-rate back toward respectable levels. At times he was successful, as he hit a four and then a six off Yadav for his first boundaries of the game.

Theron Kirkman/Associated Press

However, sandwiched in between those two shots over the rope was an indication that Gayle was trying too hard, as he threw the kitchen sink at a short-and-wide one. He managed to make contact but it was a sliced shot to third man, where Shami dove and almost got his fingers under the ball but could not quite reach it.

From then on, Gayle continued to try to clear his front leg and hammer the ball out of the ground but only managed to hit one more boundary. His wild swinging and missing meant India were able to build pressure and bowl dot balls, which continued to put the West Indies in a difficult position.

In the end, Gayle’s knock was brought to a conclusion in the ninth over, as he skied a pull shot off Shami and was caught by Mohit Sharma.

That left the West Indians 35-3, and once again their fragile middle order was relied upon to simultaneously rebuild and push on for a big total.

Unfortunately, they could not manage it, as India’s stranglehold continued, but the primary reason for the West Indies being at such a disadvantage with the bat was Gayle.

His strategy was ridiculous, as he looked for boundaries and nothing else and showed a great deal of reluctance to place the ball into the gaps and run through for singles.

It showed a lack of teamwork and a lack of understanding at how one-day internationals work as a game, as taking singles is a crucial part of any team’s strategy. All the best ODI batsmen have been capable of finding the boundaries but also taking the singles when they are on offer. 

Gayle’s decision to play such an innings came back to haunt him, and it may put them at a great disadvantage when the West Indies try to qualify from Pool B.