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'Sorry Sri Lanka, but I think it is our World Cup'

Last updated on: October 6, 2012 01:30 IST

Opener Chris Gayle, who hammered an unbeaten 75 to help West Indies reach the finals, sounded the battle cry against Sri Lanka, saying his team will definitely win the World Twenty20 on Sunday.

Riding on Gayle's blistering 41-ball 75, West Indies on Friday mauled Australia by 74 runs in the second semifinals toset up a summit clash with Sri Lanka on Sunday and the flamboyant opener declared they will definitely come on top. 

"World Cup is definitely ours, sorry Sri Lanka, but I think it is our World Cup. The support will be more for West Indies on Sunday. We love Sri Lanka, but sorry, it is going to be West Indies all the way. The final will be a good final but we will be on top, definitely," Gayle said after the match. 

"We needed this victory badly and I am overall happy with the performance. Australia have been playing well so far, and to turn the table on them today was very pleasant," he added. 

'The key for me was to be there till the 20th over'

Last updated on: October 6, 2012 01:30 IST

Gayle said the key for him was to hang around till the end of the innings. 

"Initially I didn't get many strikes. The key for me was to be there till the 20th over. Support from Marlon (Samuels) and (Dwayne) Bravo was good and finally (Kieron) Pollard gave us a winning total. 

"I didn't get strike but I didn't panic, the key was to take it as it comes and be there till the end," he said. Gayle said his aim was to target the spinners.

"(Shane) Watson has been a genuine wicket-taker and (Mitchell) Starc has been bowling well up front. so we needed to target Hussey and spinner. We actually had a bit of power there and it paid off for us. I am happy with the team performance," he said.

'Chris and Marlon set it up for us'

Last updated on: October 6, 2012 01:30 IST

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy also praised his team for an overall performance on Friday. 

"We did what we had to do, everybody turned up. Chris and Marlon set it up for us and then the bowling turned up too," Sammy said with a smile. 

"If you look at the quality in the dressing room, if we go out on the field and execute we can beat any team and we did play like a dangerous force today," he added.

'We were absolutely outplayed'

Last updated on: October 6, 2012 01:30 IST

Crestfallen after the defeat, Australian skipper George Bailey said: "We were absolutely outplayed." 

"Gayle was subdued for a while but while he's at the crease he's always in your mind. 

"But we set ourselves to get to the semi-finals and I don't think there's one area specifically where we can improve on. But from tonight you can probably say all three!" he added.  

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