ICC World Cup 2019: Match 10, Australia vs Windies, Review – Starc and Coulter-Nile ensure the Aussies survive the Caribbean wrath

Another day, another nail-biting encounter at the ICC World Cup 2019 for the spectators. Five-time champions Australia were made to work very hard on the day to earn their two points, but Windies too deserved something out of the game for the moments of brilliance they had on the field.

Windies won the toss and chose to bowl earlier in the day. Once again their bowlers gave Jason Holder a similar start in the first few overs, picking some crucial wickets. Oshane Thomas bowled a peach to scalp Aaron Finch whilst Sheldon Cottrell got a chance to produce his grand salute after dismissing David Warner. Russell joined the party soon to remove Khawaja and soon, Thomas got rid of Maxwell for a duck.

At 38/4, Australia looked dead and buried. But Steve Smith fought back and steadied the ship with Marcus Stoinis. This duo added 41 runs before Stoinis departed courtesy some good bowling from Jason Holder. But the game-changing partnership came when Alex Carey and Steve Smith took the charge and counter-attacked.

Carey played some aggressive cricket and strokes his way to a brilliant 45 whilst Smith kept anchoring the innings. But the real star of the show was Nathan Coulter-Nile, who came in after Carey’s dismissal and exhibited some outstanding strokeplay. He smashed the bowlers to all parts and raced to a fifty just after Smith got to the landmark. In no time, Coulter-Nile took over Smith and was racing towards a hundred.

One of the moments of the game came when Sheldon Cottrell picked up a worldie at deep-extra to dismiss Smith. But Coulter-Nile continued the onslaught against Oshane Thomas and Carlos Brathwaite to get into the 90s but got dismissed on 92, which came in just 60 deliveries. Australia got bowled out for 288 runs with one over remaining. Carlos Brathwaite picked up three wickets for the Caribbean side.

Hope and Holder make the Aussies sweat

Pat Cummins provided a nearly perfect start for the Men in Yellow, who found Evin Lewis’ edge which went straight into the hands of slips. Chris Gayle got a few boundaries but he clearly was struggling to cope with the extra bounce. Mitchell Starc ended his struggle with some stunning exhibition of fast bowling. Shai Hope struggled for a long time, but his partnership with Pooran kept the scorecard ticking.

Hope had a very hard time dealing with the short-pitch stuff from the Aussie quicks. Pooran looked fairly comfortable and kept collecting boundaries at regular intervals. Hope wasn’t maintaining the best of strike-rates, but Pooran’s exploits covered up for it. Their partnership came to an end with Pooran chipping the ball straight to the point fielder. Hope got another partnership going with Hetmyer, which seemed like the one to take them home.

Hetmyer ran himself out after a horrendous misunderstanding and soon after, Hope was dismissed after a well-compiled 68. At this juncture, skipper Jason Holder chipped in with some matured cricket. Andre Russell came in and blasted a couple of boundaries, but he got a little too excited and was dismissed courtesy a smart catch from Glenn Maxwell.

Holder upped the ante alongside Carlos Brathwaite and it looked like they were in firm control. But eventually, Mitchell Starc removed Brathwaite and Holder in the 46th over to virtually kill the game. The left-arm seamer completed a fifer and helped Australia pip their opponents by the skin of their teeth.

Brief Scores

Australia: 288 all out in 49 overs (Nathan Coulter-Nile 92, Steve Smith 73; Carlos Brathwaite 3/67)

Windies: 273/9 in 50 overs (Shai Hope 68, Jason Holder 51; Mitchell Starc 5/46)

Result: Australia won by 15 runs

Man of the match: Nathan Coulter-Nile