Australia vs. West Indies
3rd T20 International
Venue: Opus Stadium, Perth
Toss: West Indies won the toss and batted
Scorecard: Match Center
Perth, Western Australia – Sherfane Rutherford (67 from 40) and Andre Russell (71 from 29) put on the highest ever 6th wicket partnership in T20 International cricket to put the West Indies in a commanding position, with the Caribbean team eventually winning the third and final T20I on their tour of Australia. The pair scored 139 runs in 67 balls, leading the West Indies to a mammoth total of 220-6 from their allotted 20 overs. The bowling unit then produced the goods to restrict Australia to 183-5, wrapping up the first T20I win in Australia since 2013.
After winning his third toss of the series, captain Rovman Powell (21 from 14) decided to have his team set the target. Although the innings started quite shakily, with the Men in Maroon looking destined for a low total at 17-3 (2.5 overs), Roston Chase (37 from 20) came to the crease and offered some stability, building a 55-run partnership with the skipper while still scoring at a decent rate. After both were dismissed, Rutherford and Russell stamped their authority and led the team to a 200+ score.
Xavier Bartlett, who was on debut after impressing in his debut ODI series earlier in the month, picked up 2-37 in his 4 overs after dismissing both West Indian openers. Each of the other 4 Australian bowlers picked up a wicket each.
It was always going to be a difficult chase for the Hosts. However, David Warner (81 from 49) and Mitchell Marsh (17 from 13) got them off to a good start, scoring 68 runs in 6.3 overs, before the latter was dismissed by Akeal Hosein (1-33). That proved to be the largest partnership of the innings, as the West Indies took wickets at regular intervals to restrict the Aussies.
Roston Chase, in a brilliant display of off-spin bowling, picked up 2-19 in his allotted overs. Romario Shepherd (2-31) was the other standout with the ball for the West Indies.
At the post-match press conference, Roston Chase spoke about the mental strength of the team, stating,
“Obviously we had two losses up front, then we had a meeting and made a promise to ourselves to not leave here without a win, so that was the challenge.”
Speaking about the batting, he continued,
“The thing about our team is that our batting goes right down to 11. Alzarri Joseph bats at 11 and he has 80+ scores in test cricket, so you know that he can bat. We believe in every batter, so we were never short on confidence out there.”
This match concluded the Australia vs. West Indies T20I series and a long tour, which began with test cricket in January. The Men in Maroon will take pride in drawing the test series, winning the first away test match against Australia in 27 years in the process and now being able to create history in the T20I format as well. Ahead of a home T20 World Cup in June, the team will now be looking to fine-tune its preparation in hopes of becoming the first nation to win the title on three occasions. (CWI)
