Australia white hot while India slump at World Twenty20
It was Cameron White’s turn to shine in the Caribbean sun as Australia trounced Sri Lanka by 81-runs in their second Super Eight match of the World Twenty20.
After an outstanding 104-run opening partnership in Australia’s win over India, Shane Watson (one) and David Warner (nine) were unable to scale anywhere near the same heights against Sri Lanka two days later, and by the time White came to the crease as Australia had slumped to 4-30, the pressure was mounting on the tournament favourites.
This though is what the Victorian Bushrangers captain does best and it was his unbeaten 85 from 49 balls combined with Michael Hussey’s 39 not out from 26 deliveries that turned the innings around for Michael Clarke’s team. The 91 runs they plundered from the last seven overs of the innings set up a total of 168-5 and a tough chase for Sri Lanka.
It’s fair to say that in the three matches Sri Lanka had played leading into this clash against Australia, one man played a pivotal role in their batting. With scores of 81, 100 and 98 the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene was always going to be highly prized by the Australians.
Once again proving he’s the man for the moment at the start of the innings, it was Dirk Nannes who struck, with a short delivery getting Jayawardene caught in the deep for just nine. With the opener gone cheaply, the remainder of Sri Lanka’s batting line-up was exposed and while Tillakaratne Dilshan (20 from 12 deliveries) tried to kick-start things, his dismissal along with Angelo Mathews in the seventh over spelled the end of any fightback for Kumar Sangakkara’s side, as they were ultimately dismissed for 87.
All in all, it was another dominant performance from Clarke’s side and one that confirms their World Twenty20 favouritism.
However, it’s a different story for India who are winless in the Super Eight stage and are on the brink of being knocked out of the tournament after they were caught 14-runs short of the West Indies at Kensington Oval.
Chris Gayle’s 98 from 66 balls was the cornerstone of the West Indies 169-run total, but the hosts can dip their hats to the Australians for providing the blueprint to preventing India chasing it down.
The West Indies, like Australia in the previous match, exposed India’s weakness against shorter deliveries, as they peppered the batsmen with bouncers and extracted just rewards from their bowling with a sharper performance in the field than their usually more reliable opponents.
India now play Sri Lanka in their final Super Eight match, a match they must win to cling onto any hope of remaining in the competition. After that, they then have to hope that the West Indies don’t find a way to defeat a rampant Australia in the final Super Eight match to have a chance of themselves progressing to the semi-finals.
Tags: