After an incredibly slow start, Charles used his long handle to great effect to notch up his personal best score off 84 that came off just 56 balls with help of 10 fours and three sixes.
Opting to bat in the second Group 1 game of the Super Eights, Charles and Gayle (58 off 35) produced a 103-run opening partnership to set the platform for the West Indies' total.
Skipper Stuart Broad was the pick of the English bowlers with figures of two for 26.
Gayle turned the heat on the English bowlers in the second over when he hit Jade Dernbach for three fours.
Charles, on the other hand, was slow to get off the blocks and wasted too many deliveries in the six overs of powerplay to put additional pressure on Gayle.
But it hardly had any affect on Gayle as the big-hitting left-hander welcomed left-arm spinner Samit Patel with three huge sixes to pick up 19 runs of the eight over.
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Gayle's pyrotechnics seemed to have inspired Johnson, who made up for his slow start by spanking Graeme Swann for two sixes and a four to notch up 18 runs of the next over.
In the process, Gayle also notched up his ninth T20 half century off just 29 balls. MORE