Colombo: Australian captain George Bailey has admitted they were left helpless once explosive West Indies opener Chris Gayle got into his groove, smashing towering sixes with utmost ease in the second semifinal of the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday, and added that host nation Sri Lanka would need to get him out early in the final if they are to stand any chance of winning it.
Gayle hit six massive sixes on his way to an unbeaten 75 as West Indies scored 204-5, which is their best ever score in T20, and Australia fell for 131 all out in reply.
“Were we helpless? Probably Chris Gayle can do that to you. When he did go, he went beautifully. In hindsight you can do things differently, but the fact is that we just got outplayed,” Sports24 quoted Bailey, as saying.
“There are no excuses. The best team absolutely won the game tonight. There is a gap between your best and worst cricket, and we did not play good cricket at all,” he added.
Bailey said once Australia failed to dismiss Gayle early, they knew they were in danger, and when asked who will be his favourites to win Sunday’s final, Bailey said Sri Lanka has to get the opener out cheaply.
“The plan always was to get Chris out early. His record speaks for itself, so the key is to get him out early,” Bailey said.
“If Sri Lanka can get Gayle out for under 20, they will win. But if they don’t, the West Indies will prove too strong,” he added.
“With the West Indies attack, you can chase down 160. I am sitting on the fence a bit. But the two best teams got into the final,” he added.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 18:14