New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and chose to bat in sunny conditions at Wellington Regional Stadium.
"The wicket looks good," McCullum said at the toss. "It looks a bit different from the wicket we played England on.
"Runs on the board can be quite valuable in this sort of situation and hopefully we can get a few on the board."
New Zealand went back to their first-choice line-up, with fast bowler Adam Milne returning from a minor shoulder injury that forced him out of the co-hosts' final pool game against Bangladesh in Hamilton.
Gayle has replaced the out-of-form Dwayne Smith at the top of the order, with Johnson Charles, who scored a half century in their last match against United Arab Emirates, to open with the Jamaican left hander.
Tall left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn has also been recalled in place of Kemar Roach.
West Indies captain Jason Holder may be tempted to open the bowling with Benn in an effort to clamp down on McCullum's likely assault in the opening power-play overs, a tactic Bangladesh successfully used in Hamilton.
"We're very confident coming into this game," Holder said.
"There's a lot of pressure on New Zealand in their home town."
The winner of the match will face South Africa in the first semi-final at Auckland's Eden Park on Tuesday.
New Zealand - Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (captain), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.
West Indies - Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Jonathan Carter, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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