Mumbai : Chris Gayle said he had been on a mission to entertain after his scorching century propelled the West Indies to a six-wicket win against England in their World Twenty20 opener Wednesday.
The powerful left-hander smashed 11 sixes and five fours as the Windies successfully chased down England's score of 182 for six at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and then revealed that he had been inspired by an appeal from one of his team-mates.
"I was pumped today. Before I went out, Sulieman Benn said 'entertain me'," Gayle explained after hitting the third fastest international T20 century off 47 balls.
"I wanted to entertain my team-mate -- he's my drinking partner as well.
"The guys who play the IPL know it's a good wicket so we knew we always had a chance to chase it down," he added.
Destructive opener Gayle was largely off-strike in the opening stages of the Super 10 Group One clash but lit up the tournament when the opportunity came his way.
He hit two consecutive sixes off spinner Adil Rashid in the ninth over as the West Indies sat at 85 for two at the half-way stage of their innings.
Gayle, 36, then repeated the feat against Ben Stokes in the 11th as he single-handedly took control of the Windies' assault on England's total.
Opener Johnson Charles had gone for nought in the first over while Marlon Samuels had made a speedy 37 before being caught deep by David Willey off Rashid.
Denesh Ramdin went for 12 while Dwayne Bravo could manage only two, but Gayle, who was later named player of the match, remained destructive as partners fell around him.
The Jamaican, who was accused of sexism after he asked an Australian TV presenter for a date live on air in January during the Big Bash League, hit one monstrous six after another.
He clinched his century in the 18th over with a quick single as he finished on 100 not out from 48 balls.
Andre Russell hit the winning run as the West Indies beat the target set them in 18.1 overs.
