Chris Gayle - file

dublin, ireland (cmc)

Chris Gayle hit an undefeated 85 off 94 balls to lead the West Indies to a four-wicket victory against Scotland under the Duckworth-Lewis Method with one ball to spare in their rain-hit third match of the Irish quadrangular one-day international series yesterday.

In pursuit of a revised target of 165 from their allocation of 30 overs at the rain-drenched Clontarf Cricket Club, West Indies reached their target off the penultimate ball, when Darren Sammy flicked a delivery from Dewald Nel through backward square leg for a single.

The Caribbean side entered the last three overs needing 29, after they lost six wickets for 38 runs in the space of seven overs, but Gayle and Sammy kept their composure to navigate them through the closing stages with an unbroken stand of 38 for the seventh wicket.

The victory gave West Indies maximum points from their two matches, following a 10-wicket victory over the Netherlands on Tuesday at the same venue, and sets up a likely top-of-the-table clash with hosts Ireland on Saturday at Clontarf.

West Indies found their Scottish opponents a much tougher nut to crack than the Netherlands two days before, as Navdeep Poonia top-scored with 40, Neil McCallum made 27, and skipper Ryan Watson got 21.

Daren Powell continued to show steady improvement and he was the most successful West Indies bowler with three wickets for 38 runs from six overs, while Fidel Edwards collected two for 17 from seven overs.