West Indies Rising - The Caribbean Kings’ journey to World Twenty20 glory [Part 3]
Continued from Part 2 …
The Windies were unable to repeat the feat in their second Super Eights match, and found themselves defeated by Sri Lanka, by a margin of 9 wickets. With the exception of Samuels (50) and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJ-Bravo-c1379 (40), the West Indies batsmen were unable to take a stand
against the varied bowling attack launched by the host team. With the unorthodox http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BAW-Mendis-c1127 (2/12) leading the charge, the Lankans reduced their opponents to a final score of 129, which they then went on to chase down with ease, at the expense of just
one wicket, owing largely to a superb performance at the top by skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 (65*).
The final matches of the Super Eights saw a tense, charged atmosphere pervading the tournament, with many teams depending on the results of other teams’ matches to determine whether they would make it through to the semi-finals.
The West Indies faced New Zealand in their final Super Eights match on October 1, and posted a middling final score of 139, with Gayle top-scoring with 30 off 14. However, Sunil Narine, the Windies’ much-touted mystery spinner, who had remained fairly dormant
throughout the tournament, claimed a crucial 3 for 20 to keep the Kiwis in check, and was awarded the Player of the Match award. Nevertheless, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 managed to reach exactly 139 by the end of 20 overs, drawing the scores, and forcing the match into a
Super Over. The Windies emerged triumphant, and needed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 in their Super Eights match – eventually, luck favoured the Caribbean Kings, who were propelled into the semi-finals of the Word T20.
With a semi-final clash with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 set up for October 5 in Colombo, excitement was running high all around, with scores of excited West Indian fans, both in Sri Lanka and at home, following the team’s every move. With Australia’s Shane Watson, and West
Indies’ Chris Gayle both in smashing form, many touted the match as the clash of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Titans-c856, and all those viewing the game played out at the R Premadasa Stadium were not disappointed.
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 it out until the end of the innings, managed not to get on strike for the first 8 overs or so as the Aussie bowlers launched their assault with the new ball. However,
the second half of the innings suddenly saw him shifting into overdrive, and he went on to smash an unbeaten 75 off 41, propelling the team to a final total of 205 at the expense of just 4 wickets. Having blasted 6 massive sixes and 5 fours, Gayle eventually
finished as the batsmen with the most sixes to his credit in the tournament – 16.
The all-round Windies remained in control at nearly every stage of the match. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Rampaul-c2233 (3/16) was in fine form, as
were http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KA-Pollard-c1754 (2/6) – the Aussies were unable to withstand the onslaught, and the West Indies went on to claim a massive 74-run win, which propelled them to the tournament final.
Continued in Part 4 …
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