The defending champions will be hoping to put in a better performance in the field after dropping four catches against the West Indies.
Gayle (21 off 27 balls) was the beneficiary of two of those, plus some other good fortune.
The 35-year-old had yet to score when he survived a confident caught behind appeal.
Snickometer showed a faint noise but it was unclear whether it was an edge or not.
Either side of that reprieve, Gayle produced a series of plays and misses as he struggled to get his eye in.
The dashing West Indies opener finally got off the mark on the 11th ball he faced, but his innings appeared to be over on two when he lofted a catch to third man.
Umesh Yadav did brilliantly to make it to the ball, but the Kookaburra spilled out of his hands as he crashed to the ground.
A short time later, Marlon Samuels was left shaking his head in frustration after being run out following a mix-up with Gayle.
Gayle stood his ground as he watched his pull drop just short of the mid-on fieldsman.
Samuels set off for a quick single and easily made it to Gayle's end.
But with Gayle staying put, Samuels was forced to run all the way back to the non-striker's end, where he was caught well short of his ground.
Gayle was dropped again when he was on six, but his luck finally ended in the ninth over when Mohit Sharma held his nerve under a high ball in the deep.
Holder's heroics salvaged some hope for the West Indies, and they looked capable of pulling off an upset after ripping through India's talent-laden top order.
Dhoni entered the match under pressure to perform after producing a string of low ODI scores over the past six months.
But the 33-year-old held his nerve amongst the carnage to guide India home.
- AAP
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