Mitchell Starc took five wickets against West Indies (Reuters Photo)Mitchell Starc came up with a sensational bowling spell and Nathan Coulter-Nile produced a fiery show with the willow to guide Australia to a 15-run victory against West Indies at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Starc finished with 5/46 to restrict West Indies to 273/9 after Australia, riding on Coulter-Nile’s 60-ball-92, set 289 despite the early meltdown of the top order.
Mitchell Starc’s final two overs:
1 . W . . W | . 1lb W . . .
The finisher 💪 #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/GFzutkUMbb
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) 6 June 2019
Toss: West Indies won the toss and elected to field first, which looked like the right move, going by the trend seen at this World Cup of the chasing side being the favourites.
First Innings: Nathan Coulter-Nile and Steve Smith helped Australia overcome a poor start to post a competitive 288 all out. Asked to bat first on a flat pitch at Trent Bridge, champions Australia got off to a terrible start as they were reduced to 79-5, before Coulter-Nile (92) and Smith (73) staged a rescue act with a 102-run stand for the seventh wicket.
After two DRS reprieves, here’s how Chris Gayle’s innings eventually came to an end.https://t.co/9v5851kL52
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) 6 June 2019
Second Innings: West Indies got off to a poor start as both openers Ewin Lewis (1) and Chris Gayle (21) fell cheaply. Lewis was dismissed in the second over by Pat Cummins while Chris Gayle was sent back by Mitchell Starc in the sixth over. While West Indies kept losing wickets at regular intervals, Shai Hope and skipper Jason Holder kept the Carribean side in the hunt. When Andre Russell stepped in with his monster shots, one six having travelled 103 metres, West Indies looked like favourites. However, a spate of late wickets meant that Australia did not have to sweat till the 50th over.
Gamechanger: Mitchell Starc’s spell at the death took the game out of West Indies’s grasp. Holder and Brathwaite were batting at the time, with the required rate within manageable limits. Starc dismissed both of them in one over, breaking their backbone at a crucial time.
Scorecard: AUS 288 (49 overs) | WI 273/9 (50 overs)
