Australia kept their maiden 20-over World Cup trophy hopes alive after a thumping eight-wicket victory over West Indies in Group 1 clash at Zayed Cricket Stadium. Kieron Pollard’s men, put in to bat first, posted 157/7 in their 20 overs. However, Australia chased down the target with 22 balls to spare. David Warner made an unbeaten 89, while Mitchell Marsh notched up his maiden half-century in the World Cup.
Josh Hazlewood was the star performer with the ball as he clinched a second four-wicket haul in T20Is. He dismissed Nicholas Pooran and Roston Chase in the space of three balls and grabbed the crucial wicket of Shimron Hetmyer. Adam Zampa had yet another excellent outing. The leg-spinner gave away just 20 runs in his four overs and sent Evin Lewis back to the pavilion.
Wickets in regular intervals
The Caribbean outfit, whose semi-final hopes ended after the defeat against Sri Lanka, brought Hayden Walsh into the playing 11 in place of an unimpressive Ravi Rampaul. Meanwhile, Australia were unchanged from their victory over Bangladesh on Thursday.
The West Indies openers launched an assault on Hazlewood in the second over. Lewis hammered hat-trick of fours, and Chris Gayle registered the first six. Though the ‘Universe Boss’ struck another maximum, Pat Cummins cleaned him up for 15. West Indies lost Pooran and Chase, too, in quick succession. The wicket-keeper batsman perished for just 4, while the all-rounder didn't trouble the scorers.
Lewis and Hetmyer added almost run-a-ball 35 for the fourth wicket before the former holed out to Steve Smith at long-on. It was a fantastic catch from the 32-year-old. Three overs later, West Indies were five down. Hazlewood produced an excellent delivery to grab Hetmyer’s wicket.
A brisk 44 from Pollard and Andre Russell’s unbeaten 18* saw West Indies add 58 runs in the last five overs of their innings. Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood combined conceded 27 runs in their respective fourth overs. Russell hit successive sixes off the final two balls of the innings and took his team's score to 157.
A one-sided run chase
In the absence of a genuine pace bowler, West Indies struggled to keep the Aussie openers at bay in the powerplay. Warner and Aaron Finch scored 13 runs off Chase’s first over, and the left-handed batsmen hit Jason Holder for back-to-back boundaries and a six. Akeal Hosein provided the early breakthrough after Finch chopped on to his stumps. But Warner continued to play his shots and brought up Australia’s 50 in the powerplay.
Warner clobbered Walsh over midwicket for a maximum and ran two in the next ball to complete his 20th fifty in T20Is. At the other end, Marsh was warming up. He struck two fours and a six off Russell as Australia moved to 98/1 at the halfway mark. West Indies bowlers struggled to check the run flow. Marsh reached his half-century in 28 balls, and Australia, keen to improve their net run rate, were hurrying towards the target.
With the men in yellow one strike away from a win, Marsh was caught at mid-off by Holder off Gayle’s bowling. He made 53 off just 32 balls. However, two balls later, Warner hit the winning runs for Australia. The two-time 20-over World Cup winners ended the tournament with just one win, while Australia booked a place in the sem-final thanks to a superior net run rate.
Player of the Match - David Warner
A toothless West Indies bowling attack was put to the sword by the 35-year-old, who registered his second half-century in the tournament. Warner racked up 40 runs in the powerplay, hitting five boundaries and two sixes. He brought up his half-century in the ninth over of the chase and hammered a four and a maximum off Bravo. The 56-ball 89* is the highest score by an Australian batsman in the 20-over World Cup.
Top Fantasy Points scorers
Warner, unsurprisingly, topped the fantasy points scoring charts with 126 points. It was his first 100-plus score in the tournament, and his teammate Hazlewood and Marsh finished second and third by bagging 110 points and 84 points, respectively. Meanwhile, the three top-picked players - Pooran, Finch, Zampa - did disappoint fantasy cricket enthusiasts as they combined bagged just 54 points in the match. With Warner and Marsh taking care of the chase, Glenn Maxwell, captained by 14%, didn't get the opportunity to grab big points.
The top Fantasy XI: D Warner - 126 pts, J Hazlewood - 110 pts, M Marsh - 84 pts, K Pollard - 54 pts, C Gayle - 48 pts, E Lewis - 38 pts, S Hetmyer - 33 pts, A Zampa - 31 pts, M Starc - 29 pts, A Hosein - 29 pts, P Cummins - 27 pts
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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