Australia squandered a fantastic opportunity to go 1-0 up in the five-match T20I series against the West Indies this Saturday, conceding defeat by 18 runs when they had the game firmly in their grasp.
The visitors suffered a horrible collapse, going from 89/4 to 127 all out in the space of eight overs in their quest to chase down West Indies’ 145/6.
It all really started with the wicket of Mitchell Marsh, who, flag-bearing an aggressive Australian approach, had struck a breezy half-century (51 off 33 balls) when he made an error in judgment and ballooned the ball back to leg-spinner Hayden Walsh in the 13th over.
A procession of cheap wickets followed from there, and Australia ended up falling short despite the presence of their all-rounders lower down the order. They eventually lost all their wickets inside 16 overs even when the asking rate was brought down to less than a run-a-ball by Marsh and before him, Matthew Wade (33 off 14).
Only Wade and Marsh went past the 20-run mark for the Aussies in what was a failed attempt to continue pushing the accelerator.
For West Indies, Walsh (3/23) and left-arm seamer Obed McCoy (4/26) were the star performers with the ball and ended up sharing seven wickets between them. They triggered the turnaround for the hosts and played heroic roles in their team’s victory.
Earlier on, West Indies also stuttered along for most of their innings after an outstanding opening burst from Aussie paceman Josh Hazlewood, who bagged a three-fer in his four-over spell (3/12) to leave the hosts tottering at 65/4. It is then that the all-powerful Andre Russell finally came into his own this season and blazed a magnificent half-century (51 off 28 balls) to give his side something to bowl at. Apart from Hazlewood, Marsh, who later made a freeflowing fifty, was the other stand-out contributor for Australia with the ball, taking 2/26.
Led by young Nicholas Pooran in absence of injured regular skipper Kieron Pollard, West Indies would be pleased to have recorded a morale-boosting win. The Calypso Kings had lost the series versus South Africa 3-2 and were down and out for most of this contest in St Lucia and yet came out triumphant. It should lift their confidence for the second T20I on Sunday (July 11).
Brief scores
West Indies 145/6 in 20 overs (Andre Russell 51, Lendl Simmons 27; Josh Hazlewood 3/12, Mitchell Marsh 2/26)
Australia 127 all out in 16 overs (Mitchell Marsh 51, Matthew Wade 33; Obed McCoy 4/26, Hayden Walsh 3/23) by 18 runs
