West Indies win by six wickets and that was the Chris Gayle show, folks. We've seen it before, but it never ceases to amaze. England have plundered. Another tough experience for a bowling attack that had a day to forget. Dew was a factor, but they still lacked some basic consistency. However, better attacks would have struggled to stop Gayle in this mood. It was a faultless T20 innings in a run chase. Although Gayle's innings was an extreme, it highlighted that none of England's top order went on from decent starts. Still, 182 gave them a chance - or so we thought. Samuels helped lay the platform and none of England's bowlers had an answer to Gayle.
Chris Gayle "The preparation has been really good, it's all about practising then doing it in the middle. The dew played a part as well. After facing the first over I took a while to get back on strike, but Marlon helped ease the pressure. We wanted to stay ahead of the run-rate, pleased to finish the game and not leave it to anyone else. I was pumped today. Before I went out, Sulieman Benn said 'entertain me'. The guys who play the IPL know it's a good wicket so we knew we always had a chance to chase it down. Hopefully we can move onto Sri Lanka now. Bangalore, my home town. Hopefully I can entertain again. The celebration was all about DJ Bravo and his new song."
I'll bring you the captains shortly
Hypocaust: "If you'd said beforehand that Chris Jordan would concede just 24 runs from his four overs, I think most would have assumed a comfortable England victory... 11.22 rpo from the rest of the attack tells a different story."
Sarah: "Fantastic for the Windies and horrendous from Eng. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory." Not quite sure it was jaws of victory, that suggests it was close at one stage
Gaurav Matta: "Just checked result going through commentary...it took some time to load of that fours and sixes one..of west Indies side.."
Siva: "WI Women also won today. Good day for WI!!"
Darren Sammy "It's always fun watching #worldboss. We were quite happy at halfway, at no stage did England get away. To restrict them to nine-an-over we were quite happy. Marlon is a big-match player. I had a feeling it would be his day and the way he took control of the Powerplay. It became quite easy. We aware of all that has been said about our team, but we have belief among ourselves in this format. We will go out and try to entertain."
Eoin Morgan "We never really took the game away from them. Credit to West Indies. In the chase, things were difficult. Gayle is a hard guy to stop. West Indies didn't allow us to get going on what was a really good batting surface."
That just about wraps things up for today. Sammy said at the end that West Indies "are in it, to win it" and they've made a huge statement today. England have some thinking to do ahead of what is now a vital game against South Africa. David Hopps' match report will be here shortly. For now, though, from Gnasher and Alan it's goodbye and thanks for joining us.
Josh: "Gayle definitely had his Weetabix this morning." Judging by his instagram feed, not sure Weetabix is often on the menu
END OF OVER:18 | 10 Runs | WI: 182/4 (1 run required from 12 balls, RR: 10.11, RRR: 0.50)
- Chris Gayle100 (48b)
- Andre Russell15 (15b)
- Ben Stokes3-0-42-0
- Chris Jordan4-0-24-0
The West Indies dugout, understandably, looks over the moon. They have reinforced what a threat they'll be in this tournament
A chance for Gayle to finish the match
Vee: "Congrats to the big man from the land of Jamaica! We're here following you on Cricinfo all the way from the Caribbean island of Trinidad! Great job Cricinfo, great job Windies!" All the praise can be Gayle's today
The ball is being changed. That will make a difference
Mazahir: "Today world T20 had a great day, first Shahid Afridi and now Gayle. Guns are on fire already. An alarm for all team. Both on very very dangerous customers on these Indian conditions." Ben Stokes hasn't had such a great day. He's back into the attack
END OF OVER:17 | 3 Runs | WI: 172/4 (11 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 10.11, RRR: 3.66)
- Andre Russell8 (10b)
- Chris Gayle99 (46b)
- Chris Jordan4-0-24-0
- David Willey3-0-33-1
Kshitish Lohia: "Things not looking good for England. They face ABD next!"
The crowd wait in anticipation
END OF OVER:16 | 18 Runs | WI: 169/4 (14 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 10.56, RRR: 3.50)
- Chris Gayle97 (43b)
- Andre Russell7 (7b)
- David Willey3-0-33-1
- Chris Jordan3-0-21-0
If he does this, it will be Gayle's first T20I hundred since the 117 he made against South Africa in the opening match of the 2007 World T20
Ishan Jain: "Well looks like a cake walk for WI from here, but England surely needs to work on their bowling discipline. They have already bowled 9 wides and 1 no ball already before the 15th over. This could hurt them in tight games." Not a new problem
David Willey returns
