The two-time champions, West Indies, took on Australia in their last match of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and were nowhere near their best. Australia, with a comfortable win not only boosted their net run rate but spoiled the party for Dwayne Bravo and possibly Chris Gayle, who were playing their last international match for West Indies.
Lack of strike rotation
West Indies went from 30/0 in 2.1 overs to 35/3 in 3.3 overs, and after that, it was all about playing catch-up cricket for the entire match. West Indies in total scored 19 boundaries ( 13 Fours and six Sixes), and Australia scored 21 boundaries ( 15 Fours and six Sixes). West Indies managed only 69 runs in 20 overs without boundaries, whereas Australia managed 65 runs without boundaries in only 16 overs. The West Indies batters should have looked for more singles and doubles, especially after they lost early wickets instead of ‘just waiting’ for the boundary balls. West Indies played 49 dot balls while Australia only played 31 dot balls.
First Innings: West Indies struggled against Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood, despite being the most expensive bowler for Australia, picked up four wickets and made it hard for West Indies to have any momentum in the batting innings. There were three partnerships of 30 or more runs, and they could have targeted something around 170 if one of those partnerships crossed the 50-run mark.
Kieron Pollard finally came good in this tournament, with a 44-run contribution at a strike rate of 141.93. Before this innings, he could only manage 46 runs and had a very poor strike rate of 86.79. Such performances from the batters have been one of the reasons for the failure of the team. Andre Russell, probably one of the best strikers in the T20 format, had seven runs in four matches and showed a little glimpse of his talent when he deposited the last two balls of the innings for two sixes against Mitchell Starc.
Australia chase it down with ease
A target in the 160 range was never a tough task for the Australian batting lineup, but David Warner and Mitchell Marsh made it look a cakewalk. Warner has performed well against West Indies in this format and now averages 44.44 across 10 innings, striking at more than 150.
Marsh has more than 500 runs in 2021 in T20Is. He is the leading run-scorer for Australia in 2021, and he came good for Australia at the best moment possible. When your number three is in form, it gives the freedom to the openers to express themselves, and more often than not, gives the right platform for the lower order to come in and play their natural game.
The West Indian bowlers have also been struggling just like their batters, and that was evident in the second innings of the match. Apart from Akeal Hosein, everyone was found wanting. Hosein is their highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with five wickets in five matches. Such stats do tell you a story of why West Indies lost four of their five matches. It’s simple if you don’t pick up wickets, you are going to concede runs at the rate of knots.
Conclusion
Coming into the match, Australia needed a win to give themselves a good chance to qualify, but not only did they do that, but they also made sure that it gets tougher for the Proteas, who played England in the following match. By chasing the target in 16 overs, South Africa had to beat England by some 60 odd runs to take care of the net run rate situation, which eventually did not happen.
Australia will most probably face Pakistan in the semi-finals, and it will be a match worth watching. The Australian pace battery has been oozing fire and the batters look in great touch lately. West Indies will see many changes in their setup due to the retirement of a few key players. The defending champions would have hoped for a better outing but hopefully, they will come back strong next year given the talent they possess in this format.