After a dominating win in the first game, Australia hosted West Indies in the second game of the three-match series. The game between the two teams took place at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Sunday (4th February).
West Indies won the toss and opted to field first. They had a great start with the ball as Alzarri Joseph took them off the flyer. The fast bowler removed debutant Jake Fraser-Mcgurk for 10 in the first over before removing Josh Inglis in the second over for just 9 runs.
Cameron Green held the fort for his team and tried to settle in. However, he kept losing his partner at the other end. Steve Smith (5) didn’t get going at all as Matthew Forde removed him and all of a sudden Australia were left tottering at 50/3.
Cameron Green (33) and Marnus Labuschagne (26) added 39 runs together but they both lost their wickets after valiant starts. Australia was tumbling at 91/5, it was then when two BBL Stars Matthew Short and Aaron Hardie stepped up and bailed the team out of trouble.
Short (41) and Hardie (26) added 51 runs for the partnership that brought Australia back in the game. But the real blitz came from Sean Abbott in the end. The bowling all-rounder played a brutal innings and made sure that the Australia Cricket Team with a fighting total on the board.
Sean Abbott ended with an innings of 69 runs off 63 balls that put West Indies under pressure. Will Sutherland (18) played a handy knock too that powered the hosts to a total of 258 runs in 50 overs. For West Indies, Gudakesh Motie was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of 3/28 whereas Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd also bagged two scalps each.
AUS vs WI Scorecard, 2nd ODI Highlights: Australia bundle out West Indies 175 runs
In the chase, West Indies were off the worst possible start as Allick Athanaze (11), Justin Greaves (8) and Kjorn Ottley (8) bagged low scores and were left tottering at 34/3 inside 9 overs. However, after that skipper Shai Hope and Keacy Carty brought them back into the game.
The duo added 53 runs partnership for the fourth wicket and played some blistering strokes in their innings. But they both lost their wickets at crucial junctures of the game. While Shai Hope ended with an innings of 29 runs from 65 balls, Carty scored 40 runs off 51 balls.
Romario Shepherd lost his wicket early for just 6 runs and a similar story unfolded with Matthew Forde, who managed just 7 runs. With 7 wickets being down for 134 runs, Azarri Joesph came out to bat with an attacking mindset. He hit lusty blows in the end and ended with an innings of 19 runs off 15 balls with the help of two fours and one six.
Roston Chase (25) looked good for his 41-ball stay but didn’t get the desired support as Australia kept chipping in with regular intervals. They bundled out the opposition for just 175 runs and won the game by 83 runs to take 2-0 lead in the series. Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott picked three wickets each whereas Will Sutherland bagged two scalps.
Brief Scores:
Australia: 258-10 (Sean Abbott 69; Gudakesh Motie 3/28)
West Indies: 175-10 (Keacy Carty 40; Sean Abbott 3/40)
