Gros Islet (St Lucia): West Indies scored a thrilling 16-run victory over Australia in the fifth and final T20I with Evin Lewis smashing a 34-ball 79 and Fabian Allen taking a breath-taking catch as the hosts wrapped up the series 4-1 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground here.
West Indies set an imposing 199/8 in their 20 overs before they restricted the visitors to 183/9 on Saturday (IST).
Left-hander Lewis smashed nine sixes — including the 100th of his career — as West Indies made 81 runs in the power play, which set the stage for their match-winning target.
The innings was built on four 40-plus partnerships for each of the first four wickets — 40 (27 balls) by Lewis and Andre Fletcher; 43 (14 balls) by Lewis and Chris Gayle; 41 (27 balls) by Lewis and Lendl Simmons; and 44 (23 balls) by Simmons and skipper Nicholas Pooran.
Then, Sheldon Cottrell 3/28 and Andre Russell, who returned a career-best 3/43, ensured victory for the hosts.
Fabian Allen’s catch was one of the highlights of the match as, fielding at long-on, he sprinted around the boundary, then dived full stretch to record a superb one-handed catch to dismiss Australia captain Aaron Finch off leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr.
It was a game-changing moment as Australia lost their third wicket in the 10th over with a score of 95. It was one of two catches that Allen took on Saturday as he ended the series with seven — the most by any player in a bilateral T20I series.
Brief scores: West Indies 199/8 in 20 overs (E Lewis 79, N Pooran 31; A Tye 3/37, M Marsh 2/12, A Zampa 2/30) beat Australia 183/9 in 20 overs (A Finch 34, M Marsh 30; A Russell 3/43, S Cottrell 3/28) by 16 runs.
(IANS)
Ms Kalinga