161/2 (16.2)
CR : 9.86
157/7 (20.0)
CR : 7.85
Australia won by 8 wickets
Player of the Match
David Warner
89(56)
16.1
0
R Chase to D Warner
Chase fires a fuller one onto the pads of Warner who clips it straight to short fine leg.
16.2
4
R Chase to D Warner
FOURR!! And Warner finishes off in style. Roston darts in the length delivery drifting down the leg, Warner gets a fine tickle on it past the keeper for a boundary. Very fine performance from Australia and also from their talisman, David Warner.
AUS won by 8 wickets
And with that, Australia chase down this competitive total of 158 with 8 wickets in hand. David Warner and Mitchell Marsh were on top of the game today and took the Caribbean outfits to the cleaners. They finish the game with less than 4 overs to get a decent boost in their net run rate. For the West Indies, they will have to compete in the group stages before the Super 12s in the next T20 World Cup.
Earlier in the day, skipper Kieron Pollard was at his absolute best in the last game of their campaign. He started cautiously as the team needed a stable partnership and then let himself loose in the death overs as he collected 44 runs off 31 balls. Also, Russell’s late onslaught with two sixes in the final over against Mitchell Starc saw the West Indies post a challenging total of 158 for the Aussies.
Australia started cautiously against the spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Roston Chase but the former got the better of the Australian skipper as he departed on a single figure score. Warner and Mitchell Marsh just took on from there and absolutely demolished the West Indies bowlers who were really not up to the mark.
Together, Warner and Marsh built a phenomenal partnership for 124 runs from just 75 balls that took the game away from the Men in Maroon. Really good signs for the Aussies as both Warner and Marsh are back in form before the knock out stages of this premier tournament. Gayle came in the last over and scalped the wicket of Mitch Marsh on the final ball of his career. Warner hit the winning runs against Chase and ended the game with less than 4 overs to spare.
Stay tuned for the post-match presentation.
The Australian team now giving guard of honour to both Chris Gayle and DJ Bravo.
David Warner is adjudged the Player of the Match
David Warner: "The plan was to stay till the end and it happened today. The key was to play my natural game. So far, our bowlers have been outstanding. We knew West Indies have a great lineup and will come hard at us, which they did. Of course, Bravo and Gayle are two terrific cricketers and have set the benchmark for the other upcoming players. Chris is someone I look up to."
Kieron Pollard | Losing Skipper "I think overall it has been a disappointing campaign. The batting has been a failure overall but the bowling has been good. We could have done better with the fielding as well. Overall we weren't good enough. But for me, it's the end of a generation. We have to start from a foundation now"
Aaron Finch | Winning skipper “It was a really pleasing day. I thought it was going to be a long day the way Evin Lewis played. We held our nerve nicely. The way Warner managed his innings, got off to a flier and allowed Marsh to bulid his innings. Can't understand why people doubted him. We have to wait for the South Africa-England game and keep our fingers crossed. I'm sure someone will be streaming it. If it doesn't go our way we can hold our head high that we won four out of five”
So that is goodbye from me, Anurag, and my partners Dasgupta and Ninaad from the comm box. Switch tabs to one of the most important matches of the group stages between, England and South Africa. Till then, take care!!