Chris Gayle's 'Gangnam' style of partying continues, both on and off the field! Earlier this week, the West Indian star's bash was 'busted' by the Sri Lankan police officials, who briefly arrested three British women from Gayle's room early on the morning of Wednesday.
On Friday night, however, there was no stopping Gayle and the Caribbean boys as they let their hair down at the expense of a shell-shocked Australia, smashing them by 74 runs in the second semifinal of the WorldTwenty20 at the Premadasa.
Gayle, who has promised his fans that he would would keep celebrating in the 'Gangnam' style (which has become a super hit ever since South Korean rapper Psy invented it recently), broke into a jive as soon as Ravi Rampaul picked up the final Australian wicket, and for once, every soul in the stadium, except the poor Aussies, wanted to join in.
The colourful West Indians, tipped by many as hot favourites when they came here, will now take on a formidable Sri Lanka in what should be a thrilling final on Sunday.
In the semifinal on Friday, they showed exactly what makes them such a lethal force, as they dished out a walloping the Aussies won't forget in a hurry.
Opting to bat first, the West Indians, led by Gayle's murderous willow, came down like a tonne of bricks on the hapless Oz, virtually blasting them out of the game as West Indies raced away to 205 for two in 20 overs.
Gayle could get to face just 41 out of the 120 balls, but that was enough for him to make the difference. Six of those deliveries went for some of the biggest sixes you will ever see, while five went for boundaries the fielders never had the legs to stop.
There was mayhem all around when Gayle and Kieron Pollard added 65 in 23 balls for the fourth wicket. The Oz camp wore a terrorized look in that phase and, in a strange move, that reflected their utter helplessness, they raised the 'white flag.'
Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty came to bowl the final over of the innings, and was promptly planted in the stands by Gayle first, before Pollard took over, smashing him for three consecutive sixes down the ground. 25 runs in the final over, and the surrender was complete.
Pollard helped himself to a 15-ball 38 (3x6, 3x4) as Doherty's three overs went for 48.
The Caribbean innings was about sheer entertainment. There were 14 sixes and 13 fours in it, and each shot seemed more powerful than the other. Dwayne Bravo hit three sixes in his 37, while Marlon Samuels managed two in his 26.
The only way the Aussies were going to make a match of it was if Shane Watson and David Warner got going. Under pressure to go at full throttle from the word go, both perished to the leg spin of Samuel Badree.
Soon, it threatened to turn into a bigger rout, with the Oz reduced to 43 for six at one stage. Skipper George Bailey then showed he can bat too, hitting 63 (29b, 6x4, 4x6) to give some respectability to the innings.
When was the last time you saw the Aussies getting beaten black and blue like this? Don't bother putting a strain on your memory, because even the Kangaroos don't remember when they were smashed to pulp like that.
Meanwhile, the party is rolling for the West Indies. They will be hoping the mood continues and they can script history against Sri Lanka.
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