Gayle disappointed with batters

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has expressed disappointment with three of his batsmen after the Caribbean side crashed to an embarrassing two-run defeat against Zimbabwe in the opening One-Day International at the Guyana National Stadium yesterday.



The home team, chasing 255 to win from 50 overs, handed the tourists victory after losing two wickets in the final over and was restricted to 252 for nine.



One of the dismissals in the last over came from a poor stroke by Dwayne Smith, while Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin also gave their hands away through soft dismissals at vital stages earlier.



Gayle says he was disappointed with the batting of Pollard and Smith after they had shown improvement during the Australia series. He also blasted Ramdin who made eight.



Smith was bowled with four runs required off the last three balls after Nikita Miller had given West Indies hope by striking a six and a four in successive balls of fast medium Hamilton Masakadza at the beginning of the 50th over.



The second match of the five-match series will take place tomorrow at the same ground.