Chris Gayle finally unleashed himself to guide West Indies beat Australia by six wickets in the third T20I, at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia. West Indies have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series with the win. West Indies needed 142, and Gayle smacked four fours and seven sixes in his 38-ball 67 to take them home with 31 balls to spare.
After Australia opted to bat, Matthew Wade and Aaron Finch got Australia off to a steady start. Their 41-run opening-wicket stand came to an end when Obed McCoy bowled Wade (23 off 16) in the fifth over. Mitchell Marsh (9), who hit fifties in each of the last two matches, did not last long this time. Fabian Allen trapped him for leg before.
Alex Carey smashed two fours in his 9-ball 13 before Hayden Walsh Jr (2-18) got him. Finch struggled throughout his 31-ball stay, managing to hit just two fours. Australia were 80/4 after Finch’s departure, in 12th over.
Moises Henriques (33 off 29) and Ashton Turner (24 off 22) added 59 for the fifth wicket. But neither of them was able to shift the gear, against Dwayne Bravo (1-17) and Sheldon Cottrell, as Australia were restricted to 141/6.
West Indies lost Andre Fletcher (4) on the third ball of the chase, to Mitchell Starc. Lendl Simmons (15) departed inside the Powerplay as well. The Gayle storm began moments after his arrival. He hit 6, 4, 4, 4 to welcome Josh Hazlewood in the second over before notching up his 14th T20I fifty, and his first since 2016.
Nicholas Pooran played second fiddle to Gayle in their 67-run stand before Riley Meredith (3-48) dismissed Gayle. West Indies were 109/3 after 12 overs.
Unlike the first T20I, there was no unexpected collapse. Pooran (32* off 27), the stand-in captain, remained till the end to take West Indies past the finishing line with 5.1 overs to spare.
After conceding 89 from eight overs in the first two T20Is, Starc returned impressive figures of 4-0-15-1, but did not get much support.
Brief scores: Australia 141/7 in 20 overs (Moises Henriques 33*; Hayden Walsh Jr 2-18) lost to West Indies 142/4 in 14.5 overs (Chris Gayle 67; Riley Meredith 3-48) by 6 wickets with 31 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Chris Gayle.