Australia has faltered once again and this time it was Chris Gayle who came to the party. West Indies won the toss and made Australia bat. Australia had a decent start as they lost just 1 wicket in the powerplay but the run rate was just 8. Whenever Australia tried to accelerate, they lost a wicket or two and because of that their innings never really took off.
Henriques was the top scorer with 33 but at a strike rate of 113 is not acceptable in T20Is and especially against the batting line-up of West Indies that boasts a series of power hitters. In mid-innings Henriques made it clear that they were 20 runs short but their bowlers will make it tough for the West Indies. Mitchell Starc gave Australia the best possible start by sending Andre Fletcher back in the hut in the very first over.
However, the Universe Boss had some other plans today as his new role and place in the side were questioned by many. He was the one-man show today as scoring nearly half the runs and his side was already in a commanding position when he departed. Nicholas Pooran promoted himself up the order and played a steady inning to make sure that they win it comfortably. They won it with 5.1 over to spare and 6 wickets in hand.
For Australia, Mitchell Starc coming on its own was the only positive but other than that, there’s nothing Australia could have done. Playing with 4 bowlers and 3 all-rounders has not helped their cause as their 5th bowler Mitchell Marsh bowled just 1 over and the main bowlers finished their quota. Adam Zampa leaked 22 runs in his 3rd overs and the match was done and dusted there.
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Universe Boss hit 7 sixes in his magnificent innings and with this inning became the first man on the planet to score 14000 runs in T20 cricket. With 2 more matches to go, Australia needs to find their act together. They are playing their worst possible cricket at the moment.
Losing all the matches with such a huge margin is not Australia. T20 World Cup is due in 3 months’ time and if they considered this series to find some players then they haven’t found any. Riley Meredith has impressed with his variations and probably he is the only one to be looked at. Both their keeper-batsman, Alex Carey and Matthew Wade have failed, and it’s high time that Australia raises their bar. With the absence of their main 5 players, Australia is looking less on confidence but that’s not an excuse at this level.
Hopefully, we will see some fightback in the remaining matches. Pollard is expected to be fit for the 5th match and the West Indies side doesn’t need to tinker much because as a unit they are doing well.
