Australia vs West Indies 2nd T20I: Preview and Prediction
Australia and West Indies will lock horns for the second match of the ongoing three-match T20I series on Sunday at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.
Having miraculously drawn the two-match Test series against the Aussies, West Indies produced a superb fight in the first T20I but it was not enough to clinch a victory as they went down fighting in an 11-run defeat. Hence, this will be a do-or-die match for Rovman Powell’s team.
On the other hand, Australia will be looking to avoid what happened in the Test series, which is not letting their lead go to waste. Mitchell Marsh’s men will also be confident after winning the first match.
What has happened so far?
Although they are the defending champions in the 50-over format, Australia’s form in the shortest format of the game has not been up to the mark. Before this series, they had suffered a 4-1 defeat away from home against India.
Hence, it was important for Australia to find some form in T20I cricket, with the World Cup knocking at the door. In the first match in Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, they batted first and scored 213/7.
David Warner stole the show with his bat, scoring 70 runs in 36 deliveries which included 12 fours and a six. Besides him, Tim David played an electrifying cameo down the order, scoring 37 runs in only 17 balls.
In response, West Indies had a fantastic start and at one stage it seemed that they would chase the total down. Brandon King scored 53 runs and Johnson Charles scored 42, as the opening stand was of 89 runs.
But keeping the two openers aside, and Jason Holder, who played a cameo of 34 runs from 15 deliveries, none of the West Indies batters could rise to the occasion. Ultimately, they only scored 202/8 and lost the match by 11 runs.
In their last T20I series, which was a five-match series against England, West Indies had won 3-2 after winning the first two matches and sealing the deal in the last fixture of the series.
Head to Head Record
The two teams are exactly in balance when it comes to head-to-head records. Australia and West Indies have met 20 times in T20 cricket, where both teams have won 10 games each.
But having said that, Australia have won all of the last four T20 games against the Caribbean boys. Before the first match of this series, they had beaten West Indies by 31 runs in a match which took place in Brisbane, in October 2022.
Key Players
David Warner starred for Australia in his 100th T20I match
David Warner (Australia): By playing a match-winning knock in his 100th T20I match, David Warner proved that while he might have retired from Test and ODI cricket, he is still very much here to rule the shortest format. In 100 T20Is, the opening batter has scored 2964 runs at an average of nearly 35 and a strike rate of over 140.
Warner also has a knack for scoring big against West Indies in this format. In his last meeting before the Hobart T20I, which was in Brisbane, he had scored 75 runs. A year before that when Australia and West Indies met in Abu Dhabi, the southpaw played an 89-run knock and remained unbeaten.
Andre Russell (West Indies): Andre Russell had a poor day at the office with the bat in Hobart, as he scored just 1 run before losing his wicket to Adam Zampa. However, he was much better with the ball in hand and got the wickets of Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade and Sean Abbott.
The 35-year-old has played only 73 T20Is, but he is widely recognised as among the best players of this format, thanks to his explosive performance in the T20 leagues all over the world. While he has scored only 847 runs for West Indies in this format, Russell is just 8 runs away from completing 8000 T20 runs. He has also picked up 49 T20I wickets.
Predicted XIs
Australia: David Warner, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh ©, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Josh Hazlewood.
West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell ©, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph.
Prediction
Given what they have done so far in their tour to Australia, West Indies have proved they cannot be considered as pushovers and are here to compete. However, Australia has plenty of match-winners and experienced players in their team, and with the conditions supporting them as well, they will start as favorites again.