Tri-Series, 8th ODI: West Indies v Australia – 5 Talking Points

Steven Smith together with a supportive Mitchell Marsh and a free-wheeling Glenn Maxwell overshadowed the brilliant efforts from Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin as Australia clinched a 6 wicket win to cruise ahead to the finals of the Tri – Nation series. The match saw some spectacular knocks.

The West Indies side, after been put into bat first by the Aussies, set a 283 runs target with the help of attractive knocks from Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin. Australians needed a victory in Barbados to advance to the series final. Skipper Steve Smith ensured that there are no unnecessary difficulties in the cause. Micthell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell also stepped in as Australi marched to an easy 6 wicket win and seal a spot in the final.

 1. Top order fails:

The West Indies openers continued to fire hot and cold. The opening pair of Johnston Charles & Andre Fletcher had a terrible time. Both of them had given a breezy start in the last game and a similar yet more significant knock was been expected from them. However, both flunked. Charles was removed by the Mitchell Starc off the fourth delivery in the first over. Darren Bravo, who came in at No.3 after the fall of Charles, also could not contribute much and was sent packing by Josh Hazlewood in the 8th over. Just five balls later, Starc removed Fletcher as well who departed after making 9 off 22 balls.

2. Marlon Samuels comes to the rescue again:

Marlon Samuels yet again came to the rescue of his team after the initial shake-up by the Australian fast bowlers. The right-hander struck his maiden century in 27 innings against them, scoring a fluent 125 off just 134 balls. It was a special knock that went in vain for the hosts. The hosts were in big trouble. The Aussies had the upper hand with their fast bowlers looking very dominant. However, things changed for the batting side after Samuels began resurrecting things.

Also, read – Tri-series 2016, Match 8 Review: Marsh and Maxwell eclipse Samuels ton

3. Denesh Ramdin’s perfect supporting role:

Samuels would have been completely stranded with the support of Denesh Ramdin who hit an equally amazing 91 runs knock. Samuels looked unhesitant right from the start and was accumulating runs without much hassle. But without a support from the other end, he would have been rendered ineffective. Both shared a match-defining 192 runs stand for the 4th wicket which helped West Indies reach a challenging total in the end. The little wicket-keeper batsman was spectacular and played his best ODI innings of his career. He looked in great attacking mood and hammered the Aussies whenever the chance arrived, especially Mitchell Starc who was struck for two back to back sixes in the 41st over. In all, he hit 5 fours and 3 sixes in his 93 balls stay at the crease.

4. Skipper stands tall:

The target wasn’t simple for Australia. With 283 runs to chase a for a place in the finals, openers Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch started off breezily and put up a small 35 runs opening stand before both departed in quick successions to Australia at 35/2 all of a sudden. But, then came skipper Steven Smith in the middle. The skipper (78 from 145 balls) played in his usual style and navigated the chase in the proper direction. His counter-attacking style of batting ensured that the run rate was never an issue. He forged two highly important stands with George Bailey and Mitchell Marsh to make sure that the Australians get past the winning line easily.

5. Mitchell Marsh & Glenn Maxwell ensure smooth victory:

The Australians never looked in trouble with Steven Smith in the middle batting with intent. He shared crucial stands with George Bailey (64 for the 3rd wicket) and Mitchell Marsh (122 for the 4th wicket) to take Australia to a commanding position from where losing didn’t look like a possibility for the Kangaroos. There was, however, still a considerable amount of work to do after the skipper’s stay ended in the 41st over. But, Marsh along with the under-fire Glenn Maxwell took care of the rest of the pending work with their 64 run stand and helped Australia cruise to victory with 6 wickets in hand.

Also, read – Twitter Reactions: Australia secures a final berth with a win over Windies