It was the expected result in the finals of the Scotiabank ODI Series, as Chris Gayle’s sixteenth ODI century guided the West Indies to an easy 7-wicket victory.

West Indies got off to the best possible start, when Mohammad Iqbal set off on an impossible run and was sent back by Rizwan Cheema – with no chance to get back. Once again Cheema was Canada’s star batsmen, abusing the West Indian bowling and getting the home side off to a flier. He made another half century, this time taking 38 balls to reach that milestone including 7 boundaries and 2 sixes, one of which was a towering shot onto the Pavilion roof.

The problem for the Canadians was an inability for anybody to find form from the other end. Ashish Bagai was caught leg before wicket trying to shuffle across the stumps, Abdool Samad saw a Jerome Taylor delivery seam away and take off stump, leaving Canada 54 for 3 in the seventh over.

Again the end for Cheema was anything but soft, as he screamed a cover drive straight at Kemar Roach who made no mistake taking it in front of his nose. He had made 61 runs off of 45 balls – with 50 of the runs coming from boundaries, and he must be Canada’s man of the series.

It was the same old story as the rest of the Canadian batsmen had meek innings and soft dismissals. Sunil Dhaniram was run out due to poor communication before he could score a run, and Karun Jethi made is 3 bad run outs for the Canadian side. Once again nobody not named Cheema was able to break the 30-run barrier and Canada were all out for just 179 runs, lasting a total of 46.5 overs in their innings.

Jerome Taylor was the top West Indian bowler, taking, 3 wickets for 33 runs in 6.5 overs of bowling. Nikita Miller was the stingiest, returning sparkling figures of 10-4-18-2 – and they could have been better as he conceded 9 runs in his last over. Brendan Nash took 1 for 33 in his 10 overs, and Daren Powell took Cheema’s wicket to get revenge after he was carted for 50 runs in 6 overs by the Canadian opener.

With the Canadian innings ending early, there was time to start the run chase before the lunch break. Sewnarine Chattergoon and Chris Gayle came out looking positively Cheemaesque and got the visitors off to a comfortable start. In the 8 overs bowled before lunch they propelled the total to 55 runs for no loss, with Gayle’s 31 leading the way.

Gayle continued after lunch, surviving a very close appeal for leg before wicket and an even tighter one for a stumping, and made his half century off of 39 balls (one more than Cheema) with 9 boundaries and 2 sixes in getting there. He lost Chattergoon for 23, trapped lbw by Baidwan, and then Carlton Baugh added 29 before being bowled by Dorakati, but didn’t slow down for a minute.

Gayle made his sixteenth ODI century off of 70 balls, using 13 boundaries and 6 sixes, and saw West Indies all the way through their innings with his score finishing on 110 not out. The visitors reached their target in 27.3 overs, with 7 wickets to spare. There really was no ‘best’ bowler for Canada, but Balaji Rao Dorakanti took 2 wickets on his debut, bowling Carlton Baugh and Leon Johnson, but being carted for 50 runs in 7 overs. Harvir Baidwan also bowled reasonably, taking 1 for 38 in 7 overs.

Chris Gayle was an easy selection as man of the match, making 110 not out and leading his team to the easy victory. Rizwan Cheema was selected the man of the tournament, for his great opening batting, averaging 61.33 in his 3 innings and taking 4 wickets with the ball. The West Indies received the trophy for the first Scotiabank ODI Series, which it is hoped will become an annual event. It was a great week, and a good way to cap Canada’s home international season.