By: Trinidad Guardian

Monday March 15,

Captain Chris Gayle slammed a boundary-studded 63 off 41 balls to pilot the West Indies to a four-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the fifth and final one-day cricket international yesterday at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex.

The West Indies, despite losing the first match, won the series 4-1. Gayle blasted eight fours and two sixes as the West Indies raced to their victory target, finishing with 165 for six off 27.4 overs. Kieron Pollard supplied three fours and three sixes in an equally bruising 36 off 20 deliveries to arrest a mid-innings wobble. Earlier, seamers Darren Sammy (3-33) and Ravi Rampaul (2-24) blasted away the visitors top order as the hosts restricted Zimbabwe to 161 all out off 50 overs.

Charles Coventry, in his first international of the tour, revived the innings from 25 for five with a confident topscore of 56 for Zimbabwe. The 27-year-old right-hander cracked five fours off 88 deliveries as the lower order rallied the Zimbabweans to their highest total in the three matches at the venue.

They were routed for 104 in the third match last Wednesday and fell for 141 on Friday. Graeme Cremer hit an unbeaten 19 while Elton Chigumbura also scored 19 and Greg Lamb added 16. Despite the early loss of Adrian Barath to Chigumbura’s medium pace, the West Indies and the sold-out crowd of 11,000 were energised by Gayle’s power hitting. The 30-year-old left-hander peppered the boundaries and brought up his third half century of the series off just 32 deliveries. But when he holed out to long-off from his opposite number Prosper Utseya, it sparked a slide in which four wickets tumbled for eight runs in 25 balls.

The Bravo brothers, Darren and Dwayne were both stumped by Tatenda Taibu, while Narsingh Deonarine lofted a catch to long-on. Darren fell to Lamb’s off-spin, Deonarine to leg-spinner Graeme Cremer while Dwayne Bravo was stumped off the bowling of Utseya. Pollard eased West Indian nerves with a typically boisterous innings while Denesh Ramdin compiled a level-headed unbeaten 21.

Pollard whose three sixes were towering ones, fell with nine still required, slamming Ray Price to long-off but Ramdin sealed the win with a pulled boundary. Earlier, skipper Gayle won the toss for the second match in succession and his bowlers were soon enjoying themselves against tentative Zimbabwean batsmen. Rampaul struck in his first over when Hamilton Masakadza (0) miscued a pull to point. The Trinidadian new ball bowler reduced Zimbabwe to 12 for two after eight overs when Timycen Maruma (1) deflected a lifter to Gayle at first slip.

It got worse for the tourists when Sammy took three wickets for the addition of just one run. Brendan Taylor (7) lost his off stump to an off-cutter, Taibu (0) edged to the wicket-keeper while opener Vusi Sibanda (8) swung a short ball to deep square leg. Chigumbura fought back with a counter-attacking innings and Coventry followed suit in a sixth wicket stand of 38.

Chigumbura, after striking two fours off 23 balls, slapped Pollards first delivery, a long hop, straight to Sammy at backward point as Zimbabwe dipped again to 63 for six. Coventry found another able ally in Lamb and the pair added 57 to provide some respectability to the total. Coventry’s knock was ended by a brilliant run out from Dwayne Bravo, who sprinted in his follow through and kicked the ball on to the stumps with the batsman well short.