WI V AUS, 2ND T20I
In his final international fixture, Andre Russell hammered 36 off 15 but it went in vain as Australia cruised home in style © AFP
Josh Inglis and Cameron Green gatecrashed Andre Russell’s farewell party as Australia picked up a resounding win to go 2-0 up in the T20I series. Playing his final international fixture, Russell smashed a 15-ball 36 but that went in vain as Inglis and Green went on a rampage in their unbroken 131-run stand that saw Australia chase down 173 with almost five overs to spare.
Opening the batting, Glenn Maxwell teed off against Akeal Hosein with a four and a six in the very first over but Jason Holder got the big fish in the following over to give his side an early breakthrough. Mitchell Marsh then top-edged a delivery in the final over of the powerplay to depart for 21 gave the home side the upper hand at that stage. Things could have been a lot better had West Indies held on to their chances in the next over off Gudakesh Motie. Quite stunningly, all three chances were grassed and the Aussies took full toll of that.
Inglis struck two sixes and three fours in the next two overs that produced 32 runs to give Australia some momentum. Roston Chase was then welcomed to the crease by a six from Green and Australia just didn’t look back after that assault. Russell was greeted to the attack with a massive six that brought up Inglis’ fifty off just 23 balls and Green for his part, took on Motie in the following over as the duo were intent on getting this over with as soon as possible. The 15th over saw 22 runs being scored with Green also going past fifty just before Australia crossed the finish line.
Earlier in the evening, Australia opted to field first as both teams gave Russell a guard of honour before his final outing. Matthew Kuhnemann, making his T20I debut, made a very good early impression by giving away just 10 runs off his first two overs but Brandon King finally took him apart for 20 runs in an over to give his side some much-needed impetus in the powerplay. With Shai Hope struggling to get going and barely getting strike at the other end, it was King who did the bulk of the scoring in the initial phase, racing to a fifty in the eighth over.
However, Adam Zampa’s introduction did the trick as King mistimed one to give Australia their first wicket. Maxwell sent Hope packing off the very next ball and then went on to grab the big wicket of Shimron Hetmyer as well as the hosts squandered a good start. Zampa’s double-wicket over that saw him get rid of Chase and Sherfane Rutherford played into West Indies’ hands as Russell put on a show in his final outing in maroon.
Ben Dwarshuis was hit for three sixes in an over and Zampa was taken apart in the next as Russell quickly moved to 31 off 11. But a slower delivery from Nathan Ellis saw him mistime one and walk back with 20 deliveries still left in the innings. That made a difference especially with the likes of Jason Holder and Rovman Powell also failing to make an impact. If not for Motie’s little cameo in the final two overs, West Indies would have struggled to breach even 160 but in the end, even 200 wouldn’t have been enough given what Inglis and Green came up with.
Brief scores: West Indies 172/8 in 20 overs (Brandon King 51, Andre Russell 36; Glenn Maxwell 2/15) lost to Australia 173/2 in 15.2 overs (Josh Inglis 78*, Cameron Green 56*) by 8 wickets
© Cricbuzz
