'Staying in focus at the start was the key'
After batting the West Indies into their maiden World T20 final here on Friday night, Chris Gayle said maintaining focus during the initial phase was the key to his innings.
The southpaw hammered an unbeaten 75 (41b, 5x4, 6x6) as the Windies stacked up a monumental 205/4 after batting first on a pitch that Gayle termed as slow. “To be honest with you it was actually a slow track,” he pointed out when asked about his approach to the innings.
“I didn’t get much strike in the first six overs. What was important for me was that I didn’t panic and didn’t lose focus in that particular period. We stuck to the task. Eventually the guys played around... Marlon Samuels came in and hit a few boundaries and that kind of took pressure off me. And then that partnership with (Dwayne) Bravo really helped a lot and then (Kieron) Pollard really gave us that 200 total. The key was actually to be there till the end. It was really good batting display in that wicket,” he explained after picking up the man of the match award.
Gayle was also asked about his new-found craze for Gangnam Style song. “I saw the video a couple of months ago,” he noted. “Ever since it came out, there was a big talk about it when I was back home. I saw it in a lot of programmes, that’s how I got into it. To be honest with you, it just happens, it’s not really planned. That’s me and it depends upon what kind of mood I am in. I like to do something crazy. It’s a good dance, I enjoy it and everyone enjoys,” he remarked.
Australian skipper George Bailey said you can’t do much when someone plays like the way Gayle did. “That’s what Gayle can do to you. It was disappointing performance. I persisted with my main bowlers because it’s important to take the wicket of Gayle. The way Samuels and Bravo played it took the pressure off him,” he rued.
