Marshall propels Windies to victory in 11-over slog
BRIDGETOWN: Xavier Marshall hit a sparkling 36 in 15 balls as West Indies beat Australia in a reduced Twenty20 International on Friday.
Rain delayed the start and resulted in the game being reduced to 11 overs per side and Australia, put into bat by West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo, hit 97 for three in their allotted time.
Debutant openers Shaun Marsh (29) and Luke Ronchi (36) gave the tourists a great start — putting on 57 for the first wicket inside six overs.
Barbadian pace bowler Kemar Roach made an impressive debut himself getting rid of both openers in a spell of 2-29 in three overs.
Bravo dismissed David Hussey for a duck in his vital spell of 1-12 in two overs which helped slow Australia near the close of their innings.
A large crowd, bigger than appeared at any stage during the recent Test match, lapped up the home side’s reply with Marshall setting the tone by pulling the first ball from Brett Lee for a big six.
In the second over Mitchell Johnson went for 24 including for two sixes and a four from Marshall before William Perkins produced an extraordinary shot, going down on one knee to clip the pacey Lee to fine leg for four.
After both openers were run out, Bravo came in and made 28 in 15 balls including a six to win the match with 11 balls remaining.