Australia 281/9 in 50 overs (Watson 66, Warner 69, Forrest 53; Roach 3/53, Russell 4/61) beat West Indies 251 all out in 47.2 overs (Barath 42, Pollard 33, Russell 41, Sammy 84; Lee 3/42).
The 5 match ODI series ended as it had began – with an Australian victory. There were two West Indian wins and a tie in between as the series ended 2-2, probably a fair result considering how closely contested the matches turned out to be, but it was the home team that won hearts and unexpectedly gave Australia a run for their money.
That was the case even on Sunday as Darren Sammy, with all hope lost at 118/7 in the 32nd over, came into bat at the fall of Kieron Pollard. Chasing a tall 281, Sammy, in the company of Andre Russell, then smashed a 101 run parternship as the match turned on its head. Even after Australia had Russell fell for 41 after a review, Sammy seemed determined to win it for his team.
Finally, with 31 to get off 17 balls, Australia breathed a sigh of relief when Sammy holed out in the deep but not before he had made a heroic 84 ofonly 50 deliveries.
All in all, it was a fair result considering that Australia had dominated three quarters of the game! Helped by half centuries from their top three batsmen, Australia looked all set to score well over 300. But regular wickets after the 35th over helped the Windies restrict them for 281 with Russell and Roach sharing seven wickets among them.
Coming into the match, West Indies led the series 2-1 and had a rare opportunity ahead of them to win a series against Australia. But all such dreams were shattered early on as Brett Lee struck twice in his first two overs removing both Charles and Samuels for 0. Darren Bravo had a poor series so far and it was no surprise when he nicked Watson to the keeper. The older Bravo joined him in the pavilion soon after as West Indies were slipping rapidly into self-destruction mode. Barath made a well constructed 42 before he threw it away with a wild slog and when Pollard fell for 33, it was all but over for the home team before Sammy joined Russell out in the middle.
With 6 boundaries and six hits over the fence, Sammy almost won it for his team. On paper, a 30 run victory might look comfortable, but Watson and his boys would know that a few more deliveries and it might have all been over for the Aussies.
Man of the Match: Darren Sammy
Man of the Series: Kieron Pollard
Tags: Australia, Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard, ODI Series, West Indies
