Australia’s tour of the West Indies resumes tomorrow with the fifth and final match in the series being played tomorrow, Friday July 16th, 2021 at 7:30PM EST.
A nail-biting, thrilling game was witnessed last night as Australia prevented the series sweep by winning the fourth encounter against the West Indies by just 4 runs. Both sides were nothing short of spectacular with their batting ferocity giving the bowlers little to no chance to get their lines right. While West Indies have already won the series, Australia will still be eager to win their second game of the series, while the hosts have a chance of climbing the ICC charts with another win here. Who will come away with victory in the 5th and final T20?
Australia’s captain Aaron Finch finally joined the party with a quick fire 53 runs off 37 balls, he was partnered by the ever present Mitchell Marsh who obliterated the opposition with 75 including four 4s and six 6s while Dan Christian cameoed at the back end with 22 not out to post an encouraging 189/6 in their 20 overs. The Aussie bowlers were taken to the cleaners for the most part in the Windies’ reply but Mitchell Marsh was the standout bowler with 3 wickets and Adam Zampa took 2. Mitchell Starc was given the task of bowling the last over in which he had to defend 10 runs, Starc allowed only 6 runs for a truly remarkable win by the Aussies. Can they replicate yesterday’s performance tomorrow in the final clash of the series or will they give way to the West Indies?
West Indies had many chances to win this game and set up the series sweep tomorrow but they faltered at key points of the game which open the door for the Aussies. Hayden Walsh was yet again the pick of the bowlers taking 3 wickets with three others taking a wicket each but a massive mistake by captain Nicholas Pooran in giving Lendl Simmons the ball for an over. An over that resulted in 16 runs and increased Australia’s momentum. Lendl Simmons however would make amends with an explosive batting exhibit, scoring 72 alongside his opening partner Evin Lewis who scored 31. At one point West Indies seemed down and out but Fabian Allen (29) and Andre Russell (24) almost saw the home side over the line until Fabian lost his wicket on the last ball of the penultimate over. Andre Russell had no faith in his last partner Hayden Walsh by declining singles left and right which in the end proved costly with their first defeat of the series.
Will West Indies regroup and get the train moving in the right direction again or will they allow the Aussies to stop them in their tracks? An opportunity beckons for West Indies to win the last game and potentially climb the rankings in this format while for Australia it presents a chance to continue a winning momentum leading into the ODI series. I believe West Indies will indeed refocus by making the necessary adjustments to win the game and finish the series 4-1.