Australia Completes Dominant Caribbean Tour with T20I Sweep Over West Indies
Australia's Impressive Victory in St. Kitts
Basseterre (St. Kitts): Australia concluded their Caribbean series with a resounding victory, clinching the final T20I match in St. Kitts. After a clean sweep of the West Indies in the Test series, the Australians continued their dominance by winning all five T20 matches.
Chasing a target of 171 runs, the middle-order trio of Cameron Green, Mitchell Owen, and Tim David played crucial roles in the chase. Green's consistent performance throughout the series earned him the Player of the Series title.
Australia opted to bowl first and started strong during the powerplay. Ben Dwarshuis, returning to the team, made an immediate impact by taking out both openers. Keacy Carty soon followed, departing for just 1 run off 8 balls, putting the West Indies in early trouble. Only Sherfane Rutherford's aggressive batting prevented a complete collapse during the powerplay.
Rutherford maintained his aggressive form even after the powerplay, hitting Nathan Ellis for a couple of boundaries. However, he was eventually bowled by a quicker delivery from Glenn Maxwell, scoring 35 runs.
Shimron Hetmyer then took charge, hitting several boundaries to keep the scoreboard moving, but Australia continued to take wickets at regular intervals. In the 17th over, Hetmyer hit Dwarshuis for a series of boundaries to reach a quick half-century but misplayed a shot right after, which proved crucial as the West Indies could only add 14 more runs in the last three overs, finishing at 170 all out.
Despite Australia hitting five boundaries in the first two overs, the target seemed daunting. They faced early setbacks, losing Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck and Josh Inglis for just 10 runs.
The West Indies continued their strong start as Alzarri Joseph bowled Mitchell Marsh, leaving Australia in a precarious position at 25/3. Tim David then entered the fray with clear intent, attacking the bowlers aggressively.
After being rested for the previous match, David, who had scored a match-winning century in the third T20I, targeted Jason Holder and Joseph, hitting each for two sixes before his innings was cut short.
The action-packed powerplay saw Australia score 67 runs despite losing four wickets. Mitchell Owen then took the attack to Matthew Forde, scoring 22 runs in one over, followed by another over that cost 21 runs, propelling Australia closer to their target.
Akeal Hosein, who was introduced into the attack late, provided some relief for the West Indies by dismissing Owen, but the damage was already done.
Hosein continued to make an impact by taking out Cameron Green and Ben Dwarshuis. However, Aaron Hardie remained steady, guiding Australia to victory with three overs to spare, completing a flawless tour with an 8-0 clean sweep.
Brief scores: West Indies 170 in 19.4 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 52, Sherfane Rutherford 35; Ben Dwarshuis 3/41) lost to Australia 173/7 in 20 overs (Mitchell Owen 37; Akeal Hosein 3/17) by 3 wickets.