Gayle stars as Aussies stumble to series loss

A vintage Chris Gayle performance has blown away Australia and consigned them to a series-sealing defeat as the West Indies dominated their opponents in the third T20 International in St Lucia.

Gayle, months away from his 42nd birthday, emerged from a form slump to recapture his magnificent best in brutal onslaught featuring seven sixes that ensured the Windies snagged an unassailable 3-0 series lead at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

The Aussies made three changes to their side but their batters misfired for a third consecutive match as a suffocating bowling performance from the Windies, led once again by leg-spinner Fabian Allen (2-18 off four overs), restricted them to 6-141.

Recalled speedster Riley Meredith was expensive but took three wickets and bounced back from Gayle hitting him for back-to-back sixes (including the biggest of the night that went over the Johnson Charles stand) to dismiss the Windies No.3.

By that point Gayle had hit 67 off just 38 deliveries, allowing stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran (32no off 27) to win it with the Windies’ ninth six to seal a six-wicket win with 31 balls to spare.

Coming into Monday evening's clash Gayle had averaged just 12.75 in nine innings since returning to the Windies T20 side earlier this year, but he delivered a statement innings to suggest he can still be a force at the highest level.

After crashing Josh Hazlewood for 19 runs in an electrifying start to the Windies innings, the veteran left-hander hit four sixes off Australia's only spinner Adam Zampa, including three in a row to bring up a 33-ball half-century.

He became the first man to pass 14,000 T20 runs along the way and looks odd on to play in yet another T20 World Cup.

Only Mitchell Starc was able to curtail the Windies batters, taking 1-15 from his four overs after going wicketless in the first two games.

Hazlewood (0-33 off four), Zampa (0-34 off three) and Meredith were all expensive.

Australia shuffled their middle-order, bringing Alex Carey and Ashton Turner in for dropped Josh Philippe and the injured Ben McDermott, but it was largely the same story as the first two matches as the Windies delivered a clever bowling performance.

Aaron Finch, now with 40 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 90.90 for the series, looked to be finding his groove but he was out to a match-turning catch by Fabian Allen in the deep.

Bravo fumbled the skied chance on the mid-wicket boundary but Allen had sprinted around from long-on to be front and centre to dive for the rebound off his teammate's leg.

Top-scorer Moises Henriques (33 off 29) was the only Australian to hit a six, doing so twice, in an Aussie total he admitted was at least 20 runs short of par.

Series leading wicket-taker Allen continued his hold over the Aussies, with the leg-spinner taking 2-18 from four overs and was unlucky not to have a third victim when Pooran fluffed a stumping opportunity off Henriques.

Allen, the former USA player who was once a net bowler for the Aussies, now has eight wickets at 8.75 with an economy rate of 5.83.

After Finch won his third consecutive toss and, unlike Friday and Saturday's games, elected to bat. Australia's openers got off to their best start of the tour with Matthew Wade (23 off 14) finding the boundary four times including off Sheldon Cottrell's first ball of the innings.

But from 0-41 in the fifth over, the familiar middle-overs struggles began as the in-form Mitch Marsh (9 off 12) and the recalled Alex Carey (13 off 9) both failed to make meaningful contributions.

A suffocating death bowling effort from the experienced Windies meant the 59-run stand between Moises Henriques (33 off 29) and Ashton Turner (24 off 22 in his first game of the series) came off a sluggish 44 balls.

Canny veteran Bravo (1-17 off three overs) delivered a terrific two-wicket final over that went for only four runs, wagging his finger at Turner and Dan Christian when he pulled off a last-ball run out following a pinpoint yorker.

Qantas Tour of the West Indies 2021

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.

West Indies T20 squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr

T20 series
(all matches at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia)

First T20: West Indies won by 18 runs

Second T20: West Indies won by 56 runs

Third T20: West Indies won by six wickets

Fourth T20: July 15, 9.30am AEST (July 14, 7.30pm local)

Fifth T20: July 17, 9.30am AEST (July 16, 7.30pm local)

ODI series
(all matches at Kensington Oval, Barbados)

First ODI (D/N): July 21, 4.30am AEST (July 20, 2.30pm local)

Second ODI (D/N): July 23, 4.30am AEST (July 22, 2.30pm local)

Third ODI (D/N): July 25, 4.30am AEST (July 24, 2.30pm local)

* Details of five-match T20 tour of Bangladesh are yet to be announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Tours are subject to agreement on bio-security arrangements and relevant government approvals.