Sports Desk :
David Warner struck a 56-ball 89 after paceman Josh Hazlewood’s four-wicket blitz to help Australia beat the West Indies by eight wickets in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and put themselves in a commanding position to make the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals, reports Reuters.
Australia have eight points from five matches, level on points with an in-form England who play South Africa later in Sharjah. The Proteas, who have six points in Group I, face a daunting task to remain alive in the tournament. Chasing 158 for victory, Australia rode home on Warner’s unbeaten knock, which included nine boundaries and four sixes, and Mitchell Marsh’s 53 to cruise home with 22 balls to spare.
Earlier, Australia paceman Pat Cummins struck a vital early blow by forcing Chris Gayle (15) to chop one on to his stumps in the third over after the 42-year-old Jamaican had issued an early warning of his prowess with two massive sixes.
Gayle walked off the pitch with his bat raised and a smile on his face prompting fans to speculate online over whether this may have been his final innings. But the West Indies were not in a celebratory mood as Hazlewood took two wickets in three balls.
Nicholas Pooran departed offering a simple catch to Mitchell Marsh before Roston Chase had his stumps shattered to leave the outgoing champions in trouble at 35-3 inside four overs.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa then picked up his 11th wicket of the Super 12 stage by removing Evin Lewis for 29 as the West Indies’ slide continued, but a steady effort by skipper Kieron Pollard (44) took them to a respectable 157-7. Hazlewood also dismissed Shimron Hetmyer and the retiring Dwayne Bravo to finish with figures of 4-39.
Meanwhile, Australia kept their semi-final hopes alive by recording a facile eight-wicket win over West Indies in a Super 12 Group 1 match of the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Already out of semi-finals race, defending champions West Indies were propelled to 157/7 by skipper Kieron Pollard, who smashed 44 runs off 31 balls. Useful contributions from Evin Lewis (29), Shimron Hetmyer (27) and Andre Russell (18 not out off 7) also helped the Caribbean side in posting a decent total. Pacer Josh Hazlewood took four wickets for 39 runs, his second-best figures in T20Is. Later, Australia opener David Warner hit an unbeaten 89 off 56 balls while Mitchell Marsh scored 53 as they overhauled the target in 16.2 overs.
