So lopsided was West Indies' obliteration of Australia in the second
semi-final of the World Twenty20, the victors had near enough to 13
overs to bask in their looming progress to the final against Sri Lanka.
Matthew Wade's departure in the eighth over of Australia's reply to 205
for 4 left George Bailey's team at a forlorn 43 for 6, their campaign
collapsing in a few fevered minutes. Bailey was left to offer his team's
last gesture of defiance, a breathless 63 from 29 balls, but it served
only to narrow the margin.
That they were chasing such a tall tally was down to Chris Gayle and
Kieron Pollard. Gayle was starved of the strike early and later battled
an apparent muscle strain, but in between produced an innings of
controlled aggression that helped foster a trio of partnerships with
Pollard, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo. Pollard clumped three of four
sixes to be brutalised from Xavier Doherty's final over of the innings, a
sequence that broke Australian spirits.
This much was clear in the early overs of the chase, the only blow
landed by any batsman other than Bailey were the verbal ones delivered
by David Warner before the innings had even begun. Australia entered the
tournament resolved to fight with Test match zeal for the T20 trophy,
but they have ultimately exited the event at an earlier stage than
Michael Clarke's team had done at the 2010 tournament in the Caribbean.
Darren Sammy's team have some concerns over Gayle's fitness, and will be
a little perturbed to have lost focus momentarily during Bailey's
rearguard, but will otherwise enter the final with the confidence earned
from a thumping result. West Indies' bowlers showed plenty of wit and
variation on a dry surface, Ravi Rampaul catching the eye by using the
short ball to make Australia's belatedly included David Hussey look
nobody's idea of a saviour.
Warner and Shane Watson - until a few days ago the prohibitive favourite
to be the Player of the Tournament - were both winkled out by the flat
leg spin of Samuel Badree. Warner's dismissal required video evidence to
confirm that the stumps had been flicked after the batsman missed a cut
shot, but there was no room for doubt about Watson's exit, losing his
leg stump as he tried to pull a skidder. What followed would confirm the
suspicion, maintained all tournament, that Australia's batting fell
away beneath them.
Michael Hussey had performed a miracle to get Australia through their
semi-final against Pakistan in 2010, but this time skied Samuels having
made just 18. Cameron White glanced Rampaul into the gloves of Denesh
Ramdin, and David Hussey's two deliveries in the tournament provided a
reminder that his technique against the short ball is some way short of
international standard, irrespective of a handsome record in all
domestic formats.
Bailey's subsequent counter-attack seemed driven by frustration as much
as anything, and may serve at least to shore up his place as a batsman
in Australia's limited-overs plans for the future. But the final margin
will stick uncomfortably in the gullet of Bailey and his entire squad,
as their tournament ended with a disheartening whimper.
Such a scenario had seemed remote when West Indies made a sedate start
on a fair surface. Gayle began carefully, wary of the new ball swing on
offer for Mitchell Starc, and watched from the other end as Johnson
Charles heaved without foot movement and edged behind.
The non-striker's end was the vantage point from which Gayle watched an
inordinate amount of deliveries, as Australia's bowlers and fielders did
their best to keep him away from the batting crease. His brief
encounters with Doherty were satisfying enough, but Brad Hogg was a
little more successful in keeping the runs down with his indecipherable
googlies.
By the time 10 overs had elapsed Gayle had faced only 18 balls, while
Samuels and Dwayne Bravo, chosen ahead of his brother Darren, took a
greater share. Samuels managed a quartet of clean blows before being
outsmarted by Pat Cummins and bowled by a slower ball. Bravo soaked up
plenty of dot balls but summoned a six whenever he was becalmed.
Australian sloppiness also helped West Indies keep momentum. Wade missed
a full toss to allow four byes, Starc swung one delivery down the
legside for five wides, and both Hussey brothers allowed bouncing shots
to burst through their hands on the boundary.
The innings still required a supercharge, and it arrived in the 15th
over, delivered by Hussey. Gayle sent one delivery into the
stratosphere, and pinched another two boundaries for the over to be
worth 19. In the next, Bravo crunched a steepling six but perished to a
flatter hit next ball, the partnership ending at 83 from 51 balls.
Pollard offered sound support in the closing overs as Gayle finally
enjoyed a greater share of the strike, though he was by this time
clearly hampered by an apparent abdominal strain. It mattered little in
the final over, however, as Gayle slammed a full toss for six first ball
then left Pollard to collar three more. Pollard's dismissal from the
final ball of the innings was scant consolation for Doherty, and Bailey
will wonder at length whether he might have handed the ball to someone
else
0 comments:
Post a Comment