West Indies are a dangerous side when it comes to T20 cricket and with the World Cup in the backyard of the two-time title winners, everyone should be wary. In case, anyone forgot the carnage they were capable of, the Caribbeans sent a timely reminder.
Yes, Australia were fielding only nine eligible players but their bowling still boasted Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood. Batting first West Indies lost Shai Hope when the score was 38 in 2.5 overs. But what followed was absolute carnage.
Nicolas Pooran smashed Australia’s second string bowling all over the park scoring 75 off just 25 balls with 8 sixes and 5 fours to his name. Johnson Charles was steady scoring 40. Both of them were back in the hut by the end of 14 overs with 172 runs on the board.
Then came another whirlwind partnership by Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford. Powell hit four sixes and scored a half century in 25 balls. Rutherford proved why he would be a critical player for the team down the order as he scored 47 off 18 balls with four sixes to his name. West Indies finished with a monstrous 257/4 in 20 overs.
In response, to their credit, Australia fought back hard. Josh Inglis scored 55 off 30 balls and there were contributions by Tim David, Matthew Wade and Nathan Ellis as Australia got to a respectable 227 in 20 overs.
Despite playing with nine men, Australia showed they were capable of giving anyone a scare. But the spotlight will be on West Indies and their performance.
They once again proved that on their day they can very well not only take the game away from their opponents from out of nowhere but dismantle the challenge completely. This win also comes after they swept South Africa in a three-match T20 series.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
