T-20 world cup : Australia beat West Indies by 17 runs
Colombo: Australian defeated West Indies by 17 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a Twenty20 World Cup Group B game, which stopped 9.1 overs into the second innings at R Premadasa Stadium here on Saturday.
Chasing a daunting target of 192, the Aussie trio of David Warner, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey took the Caribbean attack to the cleaners, scoring 100 for one after 9.1 overs when the heavens opened up.
When rain stopped play, the D/L par score was 83 and Australia were well ahead courtesy some big hits by their top-order batsmen. While Warner was out for 28, Watson was unbeaten on 41 off 24 balls with two fours and three sixes, while Hussey was undefeated on 28 from 19 balls with three boundaries and a six.
Watson bagged his second Man-of-the-Match award for his all-round show as he also got the prize scalp of Gayle (54 off 33 balls), who along with Samuels (50 off 32), set the tone for West Indies’ mammoth total.
The turning point certainly was Samuels’ over which was the eighth of the innings. The over yielded 22 runs with 21 coming off Watson’s blade. He hit two fours and two sixes but was lucky when Dwayne Smith, at deep mid-wicket boundary, not only dropped a sitter but also saw the ball sail over for a six. Watson was on 28 then.
The Australian score jumped from 69 to 91 and when the downpour started, George Bailey’s men had the match in their pocket.
Earlier, smashing half-centuries from Gayle and Samuels helped West Indies post a competitive 191 for eight after Darren Sammy decided to make first use of the pitch.
While Gayle made a blistering 33-ball 54, Samuels didn’t lag behind as he raced his way to a 32-ball-50, with almost all the West Indian batsmen making merry on a Premadasa strip where the ball came onto the bat nicely.
The mayhem started in the fifth over bowled by young Pat Cummins. After getting a measure of the bowlers during the first 12 deliveries, Gayle decided to cut loose. The first was a typical swat over point and the next two were pull shots in front of the square and then came the first six which was hit over deep square leg.
