Colombo: West Indies defeated Australia by 74 runs to reach the finals of the ICC T20 Worlld Cup. They will now face hosts Sri Lanka for the title. The star for West Indies was Chris Gayle who scored 75 runs.
It was a perfect exhibition from Darren Sammy’s boys who dominated the game from the first ball till the last delivery. Australia never looked good against the charged up West Indians and it was a comprehensive win for the boys from the Caribbean.
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Brief Score:
West Indies: 205/4 (Gayle 75*, Pollard 38, Cummins 2-36)
Australia: 131/10 (Bailey 63, Rampaul 3-16)
Match Facts:
Toss: West Indies
West Indies Powerplay: 46 runs, 1 wicket
Australia Powerplay: 42 runs, 3 wickets
Man of the match: Chris Gayle
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West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first on a track which was expected to slow down in the later half. Johnson Charles was the first batsmen to get out when he was dismissed by the impressive Mitchell Starc. Gayle and Marlon Samuels have been West Indies most consistent batters in this tournament and they once again came to the party. Samuels took most of the strike and lofted the Australians bowlers into the crowd twice and together they took the score past the 50 run-mark.
Gayle hardly faced any balls and that did not change even when Dwayne Bravo came to bat after the fall of Samuels wicket. Gayle played only 24 deliveries till the 14th over and was itching to have the strike. Meanwhile, Bravo struggled to rotate the strike but got maximum result whenever he tried a big shot. In his innings of 37, he hit three sixes.
Bravo got out in the 16th over and that brought Kieron Pollard to the crease. West Indies from there turned the match big time as both Gayle and Pollard used the long handle and punished Australian bowlers. On the last 25 deliveries West Indies scored 65 runs, and hit Doherty for four sixes in the last over. Gayle carried his bat through scoring 75 runs which included six mammoth sixes. Pollard played a breezy knock scoring 38 of just 15 deliveries.
Australia had to score more than ten runs an over from the first ball and the pressure was on Shane Watson and David Warner to deliver the goods. But that didn’t happen, as Samuel Badree who is the most economical bowler of this tournament got rid of both the openers. Australia’s mister dependable, Michael Hussey also could not do anything and gave a return catch to Samuels. That opened the flood gates and Australia lost six of their top order batsmen even before crossing the 50 run mark.
Some respite for the Aussies came when their captain George Bailey along with Pat Cummins put up a stand of 68 runs for the seventh wicket. Bailey played an impressive knock scoring at the strike-rate of over 200. Australia had a little sniff till the time he was on the crease, but a good slower delivery from Pollard ended Australia’s fight back. Australia lost their next three wickets for only 20 runs.
By Indian Sports News Network
