Aussies win thanks to D/L method

Cricket365
September 22, 2012

Australia won their group match against the West Indies by 17 runs, thanks to the Duckworth-Lewis method, after being required to chase a mammoth 192 and reaching 100 for one by the time the rain arrived.

Australia needed to be on 83 at that point, and looked on track to reach the target anyway, but it was an anticlimactic way to end the game, especially after the first match of the day, in which South Africa beat Sri Lanka, was reduced to seven overs per side in Hambantota.

The Windies had made 191 for eight earlier in the day, thanks to rapid fifties by Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, and Shane Watson replied with an impressive 41 not out off 24 balls in Colombo, thanks in part to shocking bowling from the opposition.

The Caribbean side hit 15 fours and 11 sixes in their innings, with nearly all the Aussie bowlers coming in for some stick, despite taking regular wickets on a superb batting track. None of the bowlers went for less than seven to the over, with Mitchell Starc taking three wickets and Watson two.

Their innings got off to a shaky start when they lost Dwayne Smith in the second over, bowled by a peach of a delivery by Starc. This brought Johnson Charles to the middle and he too was found wanting, departing for 16 as Dan Christian sent the bails flying.

At the other end though, Chris Gayle unleashed a flurry of massive hits to push the score into the 40s in five overs, taking Pat Cummins and Starc to the cleaners for sixes and fours. Gayle had been dropped by Watson earlier on and he was making him pay.

Gayle reached his fifty off 26 balls, including four sixes, one of which was nearly 100m, and five seemingly pedestrian boundaries. Watson slightly made up for his earlier error by getting rid of Gayle himself with a caught-and-bowled for 54, in the 11th over with the score on 93.

Samuels took over the leading role after Gayle's departure and brought up the 100 in the 13th over with a cracking boundary. The all-rounder brought up his fifty off 31 balls in the 16th over, but was out the next ball, lofting Brad Hogg to David Warner at long off.

Four further wickets fell, those of Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, with the final ball being smacked for four by Sunil Narine to take the score over 190.

The Aussie innings got off to a flyer and they were on 30 runs in the second over, with Watson yet to face a ball. David Warner showed his T20 credentials with three fours and two sixes in those early runs.

Warner was unable to take it further than that though, caught behind off Fidel Edwards in the third over, though he was unhappy about having to walk. There didn't seem to be anything on it in terms of deviation, but there was a noise and his bat was nowhere near anything else, which convinced Asad Rauf to lift the finger.

Watson continued his excellent form and smashed 22 runs off Samuels in the eighth over, taking them to 91 for one and ever closer to the required score. The Windies would have been horrified by their bowling and fielding, letting down the batsmen's earlier efforts.

The rain arrived in the 10th over, with the score on 100 on the dot, and Duckworth Lewis calculated that Australia needed to be on 83, and had thus won the game if no further play was had.

The result means that the West Indies must beat Ireland in their final group match, the Irish having lost to Australia earlier in the week, to progress to the Super Eights round.

West Indies Marlon Samules, Ravi Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Johnston Charles, Dwayne Smith, Sunile Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard

Australia George Bailey, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, Pat Cummins, Brad Hogg, Cameron White, Mitch Starc, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Daniel Christian, Matthew Wade