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Brian Lara produced a match winning innings along with Chris Gayle to help West Indies beat Australia in the 4th match of the DLF Cup. Chasing a challenging target of 273 under lights, Windies had most of their chase under control but for a mini collapse towards the end which meant that they had won the match by 3 wickets. Gayle and Lara had put on a massive 151-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to script this victory. Australian Skipper, Michael Hussey’s magical unbeaten hundred in the afternoon had gone in vain as the Aussies seemed to have fallen short by about 20 runs due to the early stutters. Hussey got a consolation by getting the Man of the Match award.
The World Champs continued to fiddle with their side and today they had made as many as seven changes. Skipper Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath were the notable omissions apart from the dangerous Mitchell Johnson, who had left home after playing his quota of two games. It was the return of Brett Lee along with Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and the dangerous Michael Hussey who was asked to lead the side. Hussey had won the toss and elected to bat first in an intention of putting up a big total and then have the West Indies under pressure later on. West Indies had strengthened their batting by replacing fast bowler Fidel Edwards with Marlon Samuels.
It wasn’t an auspicious start for both the sides with the pair of Katich and Hayden running extremely poorly between the wickets and the West Indies not taking a couple of easy run out chances. The running was only getting terrible with both the left handers not really having any sort of understanding and one such incident saw Katich (22 in 21 balls, 4x4s) run out after being sent back by Hayden for a third run in the 10th over. Australia lost three more quick wickets with a couple of them going through full blooded shots played straight to the fielders. Last match hero with the bat, Shane Watson had played a forcing backfoot shot straight to covers and he was followed by Andrew Symonds, who fell playing a cut shot to a ball that wasn’t wide enough. Aussies were struggling at 64 for 4 in the 18th over when Clarke had fallen to the extra lift that Bradshaw had got. All the three batsmen failed to get into double figures.
Matthew Hayden who was playing his first ODI after about 14 months got some bludgeoning shots in his slow innings to keep some sort of pace going. He fell just one run short of a fifty picking up the man at short fine leg against Bravo playing a chip shot. Hayden took 77 balls for his 49 and was out with Australia at 104 for 5 in the 26th over. What followed after Hayden’s exit was an entertaining 165-run stand between Skipper Hussey and the wicket keeper, Brad Haddin that helped Australia to a solid 272 for 6. Both batsmen displayed their ability of hitting the ball out of the park with total ease. Brad Haddin had smashed 4 sixes before paddling a slower one from Bravo in the final over of the innings to short fine leg after making 70 in just 77 balls. Michael Hussey remained unbeaten on an amazingly paced 109 which came in just 90 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes. West Indies put on a better show with the ball and once again Ian Bradshaw applied the brakes to the innings with 2 for 35 in his 10.
West Indies were off to a dismal start losing Shivnarine Chanderpaul to Brett Lee in the 5th over. The left hander was very unlucky to have been given out caught behind off the pad and not the bat by umpire Asad Rauf. West Indies quickly got over that bad decision and started to build a decent partnership between Gayle and Sarwan who took their time to get used to the slow pace of the wicket. Just when Sarwan was opening his shoulders to force the pace in the chase, Bracken got a beautiful inswinger that foxed the right hander to glove it to the wicket keeper in his forward prod. Sarwan made a promising 25 in 31 balls with 5 fours to take West Indies to 44 for 2 in the 12th over. The West Indies Skipper, Brian Lara had arrived at the crease to pair up with Gayle and the two batsmen went berserk taking full toll of the inexperienced change bowlers. Stuart Clark, the tall seamer had a night to forget and he might have played his last match for Australia after he had gone for 44 runs in his first three overs. Michael Hussey had to hold back the third Powerplay but even that didn’t work as Gayle and Lara shifted a gear down to consolidate their position. Hussey took the third powerplay in the 29th over and got back Brett Lee along with Shane Watson. It was Watson who got Gayle out pulling to mid wicket off his first delivery of a new spell. By then Gayle had scored 79 from 93 with 7 boundaries and 3 smashing sixes.
Lara ensured that Australians couldn’t get back in the game by putting on a fifty run partnership with new man Dwayne Bravo. The Skipper did most of the scoring to take of the pressure from an edgy Dwayne Bravo. Brett Lee had finally struck for Australia for the second time in the match when he got Lara taken at slip. It was a short delivery to which Lara was through in his pull shot and the ball came off slowly off the turf to take the back of the bat. The wicket of Lara came too late with West Indies at 242 for 4 in the 41st over. Lara scored a glorious 87 in 80 balls with 11 fours and a splendid six that hit the sightscreen off Dan Cullen. Drama followed after Lara’s exit with Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels and then Dwayne Smith falling in the space of seven deliveries. West Indies were at 255 for 7 with still 18 to get. They had Bravo and Baugh at the crease and Aussies had lost the services of Brett Lee and Shane Watson who had bowled out their 10 overs. Carlton Baugh had a nervy start flashing at deliveries outside the offstump, but he regained his cool soon to steer his side home along with Bravo with 16 deliveries to spare. Dwayne Bravo stuck around for more than an hour to remain unbeaten on a precious 37 with two fours and a six having played 53 balls. Aussies had given away as many as 33 extras which included 16 wides and 11 no balls.
Brett Lee returned back to the team with 3 for 46 in his 10 overs, good figures to read on paper but not the bowling that had any real impact on West Indies. Shane Watson bowled with lots of heart but couldn’t get many wickets, just the one in his 10 overs going for 42 runs. One had to feel for Stuart Clark who was the unfortunate target selected by Gayle and Lara to attack and he went for 87 runs in the 7 overs he had bowled. West Indies with this win have topped the table with 9 points to make it extremely difficult for India to gain a berth in the finals to be played on the 24th. Both these teams meet day after tomorrow for their second round match and this match and the rest of the tournament would be played an hour before the original schedule to cover up for any possible rain interventions.