It’s that man once again! Player of the series of 2015 World Cup, Australia’s current best fast bowler, Mitchell Starc went through West Indies batting line up to earn his team their second consecutive win in the World Cup 2019 on Thursday.
Defending a total of 288, Mitchell Starc got rid of the dangerous Chris Gayle before he accounted for the wicket of in-form Andre Russell and then Jason Holder to seal the match for Australia.
The 29-year old bowler has shown the entire world that he is still as effective with the ball as he was 3-4 years ago. He took the 5 wickets in the match and in the process also broke Saqlain Mushtaq’s record to become the fastest to 150 ODI wickets.
Even though West Indies ended on a losing side, they perhaps have made every team wary of their strong batting line up. Had they played a little more cautiously, Jason and Co. would have registered their second win in the tournament.
Shahi Hope anchored West Indies’ run chase while playing a handy 68-run knock which included as many as seven boundaries. He stitched two useful partnerships with Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer before he pulled a well-targeted bouncer from Pat Cummins to Usman Khawaja at mid-on in the 35th over.
Skipper Jason Holder took it from there who almost romp West Indies home on Wednesday. While wickets kept falling at one end, Holder stood tall at other till the end. He played a good inning of 51 runs off 57 balls however it was once again Australia’s speedster Mitchell Starc who did him for pace as his wicket dried West Indies hope to win the match. West Indies ended up scoring 273 in 50 overs and eventually lost the match by 15 runs.
Earlier, West Indies quicks dented Australian top order by extracting enough movement from the seam and bounce only to see the defending champions reeling at 79/5 in 16.1 overs. However, Steven Smith and keeper Alex Carey led Australia’s recovery as the duo stitch 66-run stand between them. Steven Smith played a vital knock of 73 runs off 103 balls, while Carey contributed with 45 off 55 balls.
But, post 30 overs what hogged all limelight was Australia’s all-rounder Nathan Coulter-Nile who played one of the best innings of his career. He scored as many as 92 runs off just 60 balls, including 8 fours and 4 sixes.
Nathon Coulter Nile played till the 49th over and in the process helped his team post a total of 288 runs in 50 overs.
Also check:-
- Nathan Coulter-Nile Smashes Highest Ever World Cup Score by a Number Eight Batsman
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- ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Full Schedule, Venues & Tickets Price
