Jaipur, November 2:

Opener Chris Gayle hammered his 15th limited-overs century as the West Indies trounced South Africa by six wickets in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy on Thursday.

The defending champion set up Sunday’s title contest with reigning world champion Australia. Gayle made a mockery of South Africa’s modest 258-8, as he smashed an unbeaten 133 to lead the West Indies to 262-4 in 44.

Gayle shared a 154-run opening partnership with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who on 57 retired after a bout of cramps. Ramnaresh Sarwan hit 27 and added 42 runs with Gayle as the first-wicket stand extended to 196 before Makhaya Ntini dismissed Sarwan lbw.

Dwayne Bravo (15), skipper Brian Lara (9) and Runako Morton (zero) perished cheaply before Marlon Samuels helped Gayle reach the target.

Lara became only the fourth batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Adam Gilchrist to hit 1,000 boundaries in limited-overs internationals. South Africa’s innings revolved around Herschelle Gibbs (70) and shared an innings-building partnership of 92 for the fourth wicket with AB de Villiers. South Africa struggled to accelerate the run-rate before Gibbs and de Villiers (46) displayed urgency in moving the scoreboard.

South Africa lost Smith (19) and Jacques Kallis (16) early before opener Loots Bosman made a composed 58-ball 39. De Villiers hit three fours before being run out going for a sharp single.