Gayle realises his unbeaten 146 has not carried the tourists to a position of safety against New Zealand in the second test.
The left-handed opener ended a 44-month period without a hundred by batting through the penultimate day, his first century since he culled 317 runs from the South African attack at Antigua in April 2005.
Gayle, who battled leg cramps late in the day, guided the West Indies to a lead of 214 at the close with by anchoring their second innings of 278 for seven.
The 29-year-old adjusted his approach throughout the day, toning it down when Shivnarine Chanderpaul departed for a golden duck when the West Indies' lead was just 42.
"I tried to play a Shiv (Chanderpaul) role," Gayle said.
"He said he said to me I had to bat out the day and play his sort of role."
Gayle faced 325 balls and hopes his team can cobble together at least another 50 runs before New Zealand start their chase.
"Anything past that is a bonus. Hopefully we can bat a bit of time and put New Zealand under pressure.
"The wicket is still good to bat on so we can't take anything for granted."
From a personal perspective, Gayle was relieved to finally add to his seven test centuries.
"It feels like five years ago now, it's good to get a century after so many years," he said.
"Hopefully it can be a beneficial one one for the team and I can press on as much as possible."
He said he had no problem modifying his approach, gently taking aim at New Zealand's bowlers.
"I had to make the necessary adjustments and they bowled a bit negative to me as well to keep the run rate down.
"I played the patient role, I let them come to me as much as possible."
Gayle scored 74 and 34 in his two previous innings of the series and, given his record against New Zealand, it was not entirely surprising a century finally came his way.
In seven tests against New Zealand he has scored 769 runs at 79.60 and when he gets a ton, it is invariably big.
His highest score against New Zealand is his other century -- the 204 amassed at Grenada in 2002.
NZPA
