After winning the first two matches of the T20I series, the Australian cricket team has already won the series. However, the West Indies will get a last chance to lessen the deficit as the Aussies will face the visitors on Tuesday at the Optus Stadium in the last game of the three-match T20I series.
Being a dead rubber, the hosts might be looking to try out the likes of Aaron Hardie and Nathan Ellis as the duo hasn’t featured in the first two T20Is. On the other hand, the visitors would be looking to replace the misfiring Sherfane Rutherford with either Roston Chase or Oshane Thomas depending on whether Rovman Powell’s men would like to strengthen the batting or bowling.
What have they done so far?
Before the T20I series, the Australian cricket team exhibited their prowess in limited-overs cricket by winning the three-match ODI series 3-0 against the West Indies. While Australia came into this series on the back of a 4-1 loss against India in their last T20I series, the Windies defeated England 3-2 in their last T20I assignment.
The first game of the three-match T20I series between Australia and the West Indies took place at the Blundstone Arena as the visitors won the toss and decided to field first. David Warner and Josh Inglis gave a decent start to the Aussies as they accumulated 77 runs in the powerplay. Inglis was eventually dismissed by Jason Holder at the score of 39 runs.
With the first dismissal, the Windies found an opening as Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis also lost their wicket early. Warner scored a spectacular half-century putting up 70 runs off 36 balls. Nevertheless, Tim David fulfilled the role of a perfect finisher by scoring 37 runs off 17 deliveries, guiding the Aussies to a total of 213 runs.
Brandon King’s half-century and Johnson Charles’ innings of 42 runs also gave a laudable start to the West Indies but as soon as the duo lost their wickets, the whole Windies batting line-up started collapsing. Jason Holder tried closing on the margin with the fiery innings of 34 runs off 15 balls but West Indies fell short by 11 runs against the Aussies in the first match.
In the second game, West Indies again decided to field first after winning the toss. Warner and Inglis lost their wickets during the powerplay as Australia stood 58/2 after six overs. Nevertheless, everything changed with the arrival of Maxwell on the batting crease. The Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder completed his half-century in 25 deliveries and then went on to score 120 runs off 55 deliveries, eventually leading his side to a mammoth total of 241 runs.
The Windies got an unlikely start as they lost four crucial wickets in the powerplay. Skipper Rowman Powell tried anchoring the innings as he scored a half-century scoring 63 runs off 37 deliveries. Nevertheless, the target turned out to be supernumerary for the visitors as they lost the match by 34 runs.
Head to Head Record
West Indies and Australia have faced each other in T20Is on a total of 21 occasions. The Aussies have recorded 11 wins while West Indies have walked out victories on 10 occasions.
However, in the last six T20I matches between the two sides, the Windies have managed to win only a single game and it happened in July 2021 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Saint Lucia.
Key Players
Glenn Maxwell equalled Rohit Sharma’s record of most centuries in T20I cricket
Glenn Maxwell (Australia): Over time, Glenn Maxwell has gained the reputation of being a clutch player. The right-handed batsman has excelled in the ability to perform under pressure. Consequently, he gave a glimpse of his batting prowess against the West Indies in the second T20I, which took place at the Adelaide Oval.
Maxwell scored 120 runs off 55 deliveries, he also smashed 12 fours and 8 sixes during the stellar innings. Hence, the home fans will be expecting a similar knock from the all-rounder in the third T20I of the series.
Jason Holder (West Indies): The former West Indies skipper, Jason Holder can potentially turn out to be the lynchpin for the visitors in the last game of the series. In the first match of the T20I series, Holder dismissed Inglis, which was the West Indies’ first breakthrough of the game apart from scoring 34 runs off 15 deliveries as a lower-order batter.
In the second match, Holder scored 28 runs off 16 deliveries and also dismissed Inglis and Marcus Stoinis in his four-over spell. Hence, the Barbadian cricketer’s experience can help the Windies avoid a 3-0 series loss.
Predicted XIs
Australia: David Warner, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh ©, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Jason Behrendorff
West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shai Hope, Rovman Powell ©, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Oshane Thomas, Alzarri Joseph
Prediction
The performance by the West Indies has been praiseworthy in both games, however, it has been completely overshadowed by Australia’s batting brilliance. Hence, the West Indies bowlers have to perform with a better economy rate if they want to avoid a 3-0 humiliation.