Jacques Kallis hit career-best 139 Wednesday as South Africa scored 310 for six wickets at the Wanderers Stadium to beat West Indies by four wickets in the fifth and final one-day international.
South Africa won the series 3-1, with Kallis being named man of the series for his 361 runs in the five matches.
"South Africa batted really well," West Indies captain Brian Lara said. "Graeme Smith and his boys deserved the win."
Kallis' total was scored off 142 balls, and he was fighting a cramp in the latter stages of his innings -- especially during a sprightly 54-run partnership with Jacques Rudolph.
Kallis struck 11 fours and three sixes in his 12th one-day century, and in scoring his second century of the one-day series -- and his sixth of the tour -- moved above Gary Kirsten as the top run scorer for South Africa in one-day internationals.
After Herschelle Gibbs was dismissed early for the fifth time in the series, South African captain Smith found a willing partner in Kallis to set a good foundation for South Africa's run chase.
When Smith was out for 58, South Africa had reached 133 in just 25 overs, and the race was on.
Rudolph gave impressive impetus to the race with an inventive 35 off 29 balls at a crucial stage in South Africa's chase.
West Indies clawed its way back into the match in the final few overs as a brief flurry of wickets fell. Ravi Rampaul gave the visitors a real chance with his final over, dismissing Kallis and conceding just one run.
But some poor fielding on a dew-covered surface in the final over saw Shaun Pollock thumping the winning runs. He finished the match off in style with a six over extra cover off Gayle.
"We made some mistakes in the field," acknowledged Lara, "but now's not the time to get down on the guys."
Gayle's 152 off just 154 balls, the highest individual score at the Wanderers, and the highest score by a West Indian player against South Africa, was an unusual blend of belligerence and caution.
Gayle hit 12 fours and three sixes in the process. None of the sixes was more impressive than the one he hit off Pollock's final over, managing to launch a good length delivery over the long-on boundary.
It was a swashbuckling batting display by the tourists from beginning to end.
It started with a West Indies record opening partnership of 193 between Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and was rounded off by some aggressive batting by Ricardo Powell, who hit 49 off just 24 deliveries.
Chanderpaul was eventually dismissed for 85, having scored his 27th one-day half-century.
While Chanderpaul and Gayle were moving toward their record total, the South African bowlers seemed to be lulled into a false sense of security.
That all changed in the final 10 overs, during which the West Indies batsmen scored 104 runs.
Brian Lara came and went for just 11, but that only signaled the advent of Powell.
Only Smith, who dismissed Chanderpaul, and Lance Klusener, who got rid of Lara, had any success. Smith took one for 52 in eight overs, and Klusener one for 42 in eight.
However, Pollock was his usual economical self until Powell tucked into his final two overs. His final figures were none for 47 in 10.
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