Australia on Friday took the lead in the AUS vs WI T20I series with the Mitchell Marsh-led team beating West Indies convincingly in the AUS vs WI 1st T20I. Australia, batting first, put up a huge score of 213 for West Indies to chase. West Indies started the chase well with two openers scoring runs. But the middle order’s failure saw West Indies lose the match by 11 runs.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss at the Blundstone Arena and put Australia to bat first. Australia got off to a fantastic start, with opening pair of David Warner and Josh Inglis scoring 93 runs in 8 overs for the opening wicket.
David Warner top scored for the Aussies with 70 as a late onslaught by Tim David and Matthew Wade helped Australia reach a good total of 213. For West Indies, Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets although almost all the bowlers went for a fair share of runs. The total looked enough to clinch a win for Australia but West Indies had other plans.
West Indies came out all guns blazing in the chase, with openers Brandon King and Johnson Charles taking the Aussie bowlers on in the steep chase. Johnson Charles narrowly missed out on the half-century, getting out at 42 runs. However, Brandon King completed his half-century and got out at 52, as West Indies’ good start was marred by three quick wickets.
The chase went downhill as Andre Russell also departed in just two balls. Powell-led team’s early push fizzled out. Jason Holder produced a late onslaught with a 14-ball 33 innings but that wasn’t enough as Australia moved towards an easy win and take lead in the three match series.