Australia suffer sensational collapse of 6/19 in first Twenty20 International against West Indies

West Indies were staring down the barrel in the first Twenty20 International against Australia at St Lucia. It needed Andre Russell’s blazing 51 off 28 balls to rescue them and give the bowlers something to bowl at. Australia was cruising at 108/4. In a sensational collapse, Hayden Walsh Jr and Obed McCoy both put on a bowling performance for the ages. McCoy took 4/26 and Walsh chipped in with 3/23 as Australia lost six wickets for 19 runs. Their 100 percent record ended in St Lucia ended in spectacular fashion as West Indies registered a tense 18-run win in the first T20I.

Australia chose to bowl and they struck in the second over with Josh Hazlewood removing Evin Lewis for 0. Lendl Simmons looked to be aggressive by smashing a six and a four off Ashton Agar. However, Hazlewood was in fine rhythm as he got Gayle for four off 10 balls. At the end of the powerplay, Hazlewood had figures of 3-1-3-2. Simmons hit another six off Adam Zampa before he perished to Mitchell Marsh for 27.

Nicholas Pooran, who was captaining the West Indies for the first time, looked to take the attack to the bowlers by hitting Mitchell Marsh for a couple of fours. But, the two-paced nature of the St Lucia deck meant scoring was difficult.

The Andre Russell show for West Indies

Pooran was run-out for 17 and after 12 overs, West Indies were 66/4. Russell got going with a four and he benefited from a dropped catch by Moises Henriques off Marsh on 5. The drop proved to be costly as Russell blasted two sixes off Agar in the 15^th over that yielded 16 runs. Although Shimron Hetmyer fell cheaply, Russell was in his zone. He launched Mitchell Starc for two massive sixes as West Indies eyed 150.

Starc continued to feel the heat and Russell launched him out of the ground for his fifth six to reach his maiden fifty. Russell’s 26-ball onslaught had given the Windies momentum. Although Hazlewood sent back Russell for 51, West Indies reached 145/6 with Dwayne Bravo hitting the last ball for a six.

Marsh puts on a show for Australia

The Aussies made a disastrous start when they lost their skipper Aaron Finch cheaply to Fabian Allen’s first ball. But, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh pressed the accelerator. Wade thumped a four and a six off Fidel Edwards. The left-hander was in fine touch with two more sixes off Russell. But, the all-rounder had the last laugh as Wade sliced a cut straight to third man to end his innings of 33 off 14 balls.

Josh Phillippe went cheaply but Moises Henriques started with a bang by hammering McCoy for two sixes. Marsh hit a six off Allen and Walsh but Australia lost Henriques. Marsh was finding the boundary but one shot by Ben McDermott pressed the panic stations. McDermott backed away to the leg side to thump an inside-out drive but Walsh slipped in the googly and he was bowled.

Marsh reached his fifty and Australia needed 31 off 48 balls with five wickets in hand. The equation was achievable. But then, a sensational collapse ensued.

Australia’s Calypso Collapso

Walsh ended Marsh’s vigil on 51 and McCoy dismissed Agar for 1. West Indies were back in the game in a big way. When Walsh sent back Christian, he ended with figures of 3/23. McCoy sealed the deal in grand style as he took two more wickets to finish with 4/26 as West Indies won by 18 runs. McCoy’s figures are remarkable considering that he had gone for 17 in his first over.

After the match, Finch admitted that Australia had panicked. “After the position Marsh and Wade got us into, I thought we panicked a bit. We have been working on batting aggressively in the middle overs, but today we probably had to adapt better. Thought the pitch actually got better in the second innings, the ball came through nicely and that made this very disappointing,” Finch said.

The second Twenty20 International will take place at the same venue on Saturday.