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Aussies make light weight of West Indies
Australia induced hosts West Indies into their first loss of the World Cup as they went on to post a thumping 103-run victory in the first Super Eight encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. West Indies’ reply resumed the match that was spilled over into reserve day because of delay caused by rain.
The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda was swarming with spectators, cheering the home team for a victory over the World Champions. However, it was not to be, as Australian bowlers continued with the good work done by the batting lineup. The West Indian squad was bundled out for just 219 runs in the 46th over.
Chasing an improbable 323 runs for victory, West Indies began faltering from the word go. Openers Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were both out before the eighth over. Marlon Samuels soon followed suit. The sinking boat was stabilized for a while by Ramnaresh Sarwan (29) and skipper Brian Lara (77). However, West Indies lost a wicket too many and had lost eight wickets before the total read 200 runs.
Denesh Ramdin did put up a brave front lower down the order by scoring a quickfire 52 off 43 balls. But, his effort went down the drain as he stood helplessly, watching wickets tumble at the other end. Eventually, West Indies could not bat out their 50 overs and were sent packing for a paltry 219 runs. For Australia, Glenn McGrath (3-31), Brad Hogg (3-56) and Shaun Tait (2-43) were the pick of the bowlers.
Early in the day, Australia displayed extraordinary strokemaking and reestablished their supremacy in world cricket. The Aussie blitzkrieg was led by opener Matthew Hayden, who scored his ninth one-day century to power the world champions to a mammoth total of 322 runs. Hayden went on to make 158 runs in 143 balls, hitting 14 fours and four sixes in the process.
However, Australia’s performance was solely confined to Hayden’s ravaging of West Indian bowlers. The other batsmen did not manage to score quick and big. Michael Clarke was the only one with worthwhile contribution of 41 in 47 balls. Windies’ bowlers kept picking wickets at regular intervals, with Darren Powell (2-53 in ten overs) being the pick of them.
Brief Scores: Australia 322/6 (Hayden 158, Powell 2-53) vs. West Indies 219 (Lara 77, McGrath 3-31, Hogg 3-56)
Result: Australia won by 103 runs
Man of the Match: Matthew Hayden
To know more about Cricket World Cup 2007, check the following links:
Points Table
Highlights
Match Scorecards
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