Highlights, Australia vs West Indies, T20 World Cup 2021: Warner, bowlers lead Australia to eight-wicket win

David Warner: “It felt satisfying to be there till the end. The key for me was to play my natural game. (Our bowlers) have been outstanding. We knew West Indies would come out hard against us. They got to a very competitive total.”

David Warner is the Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 89

Almost there! 

Australia are almost there! Barring an upset of epic proportions, their quest for a maiden T20 World Cup title has taken them to the semis. Plenty of power from @davidwarner31 & Mitch Marsh. Not the sendoff West Indies would have wanted for Gayle and Bravo, two of their greatest.

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 6, 2021

Australia form a guard on honour for Bravo and Gayle who also autograph the cameras. Gayle also gave one of his hats to a person in the stands.

Top cricketer! 

It's amazing how different a side Australia looks when @davidwarner31 fires for them.

Easily one of the best batters in this format. So hard to bowl to, with his range of shots.

Australia moves into semis unless South Africa do something Miraculous.#CricketTwitter

— DK (@DineshKarthik) November 6, 2021

Australia win! 

Aussies secure an eight-wicket win over West Indies to strengthen their bid for a semis spot. They have completed the chase inside 17 overs and that is a massive boost to their NRR, putting them in an advantageous position against South Africa who play England tonight.

After 16 overs,Australia 157/2 ( David Warner 85 , )

Gayle gives away seven runs but takes the wicket of Marsh in what looks like his final game for West Indies. Aussies need one more to win.

Mitchell Marsh c Holder b Gayle 53 (32)

Gayle gets a wicket in what looks like his final match. With one needed to win, Marsh plays his lofted shot straight to mid-off fielder. Gayle celebrates wildly.

After 15 overs,Australia 150/1 ( David Warner 80 , Mitchell Marsh 53)

17 from Bravo’s last international over. The current partnership is now worth 177 runs. Australia need eight more to win.

After 14 overs,Australia 133/1 ( David Warner 69 , Mitchell Marsh 50)

Holder into the attack. Two streaky boundaries for Marsh in the over but he wouldn’t mind. He has got to his fifty and Australia are 25 runs away from a win.

Marsh brings up his fifty with a single. He comes good in a pressure game to take Australia close to that semis spot.

A repeat of the previous four. Another edge, and another boundary to third man area.

Marsh throws his bat on the wide ball and the edge runs down to third man fence.

After 13 overs,Australia 122/1 ( David Warner 68 , Mitchell Marsh 41)

Runs keep coming easily for Australia. The widespread field allows easy singles and Warner keeps finding boundaries at regular intervals. Steered a full ball from Bravo in the over excellently to the backward point fence. Eight from the over.

Brilliant timing! Fuller outside off delivery from Bravo and Warner opens the face of the bat to get a boundary at deep backward point.

After 12 overs,West Indies 87/4 ( Shimron Hetmyer 24 , Kieron Pollard (C) 8)

Australia continue to march towards the target with singles and boundaries. Nine from Russell’s over with Warner getting a four. Warner ducked under the bouncer but the ball got deflected off the bat and ran down to fine leg fence.

Warner was not in control of that pull shot but luckily the ball deflected off the bat and went to fine leg fence.

After 11 overs,Australia 105/1 ( David Warner 55 , Mitchell Marsh 38)

Bravo back into the attack. 100 up for Australia as they keep cruising in the chase. Seven from the over. The bowling changes have just not worked for Pollard today. Only 53 more needed for Australia but quick wickets can make things interesting.

After 10 overs,Australia 98/1 ( David Warner 54 , Mitchell Marsh 33)

Big over for Australia. Big over for Marsh. Russell starts off poorly. The leg-side ball is whipped over long leg for a six. Hosein misfield gives away a four and a fuller ball is guided to third man fence by Marsh for another four. 16 from the over. Fifty partnership up between the duo.

After 9 overs,Australia 82/1 ( David Warner 53 , Mitchell Marsh 18)

Warner continues to boss Windies. The first ball from Walsh was smoked over cow corner for a six. He then took a double to complete his fifty. 10 from the over.

Half-century for Warner in just 29 balls. Great innings so far. He has looked in control and his shots have not been very risky.

Biggie! Tossed up ball by Walsh and Warner slog sweeps this over cow corner.

After 8 overs,Australia 71/1 ( David Warner 43 , Mitchell Marsh 17)

Hosein continues. An LBW review against Warner but the batter had inside-edged the reverse sweep onto his pads. A six for Marsh down the ground. 10 from the over.

Very good shot! March steps out and goes inside-out against Hosein for a six down the ground.

After 7 overs,Australia 61/1 ( David Warner 42 , Mitchell Marsh 9)

Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh is into the attack. Eight from this over with a boundary for Marsh who executed a reverse sweep excellently. Australia off to a flier.

Mitch Marsh brings out the reverse sweep to deal with the offside ball from Walsh, and adds a boundary.

After 6 overs,Australia 53/1 ( David Warner 40 , Mitchell Marsh 3)

Strong end to the powerplay from Australia. Hosein gives away 12 runs. Warner is looking in good touch. He smashed the fuller leg-side ball over fine leg for a six and cut a short ball past point for a four.

Short ball on off from Hosein. Warner rocks back and cuts it to deep backward point fence.

Fuller leg-side ball from Hosein and Warner helps it on its way over the fine leg fence.

After 5 overs,Australia 41/1 ( David Warner 29 , Mitchell Marsh 2)

Bravo, playing his last international match, is into the attack. Warner, however, shows no mercy to Bravo as a fuller ball is offered. Warner thrashes it down the ground for a four. Six from the over.

Excellent shot! Fuller ball from Bravo and Warner launches this down the ground to the long-off boundary.

After 4 overs,Australia 35/1 ( David Warner 24 , Mitchell Marsh 1)

Windies hit back with the wicket of Finch. Hosein strikes. Finch was looking to play a cut shot from close to the body but inside edged it onto the stumps. Two from the over.

Aaron Finch b Hosein 9 (11)

It wasn’t short enough to cut but Finch went for it and ended up chopping the ball back onto his own stumps.

After 3 overs,Australia 33/0 ( David Warner 23 , Aaron Finch (C) 9)

The bowling change has worked in Australia’s favour. Holder leaks 15. Two fours and a six for Warner. Who smashed one down the ground for a four, edged one past the keeper for another four and pulled a short ball over cow corner for a six.

Short ball and Warner smashes this to deep midwicket. Strong start.

Outside edge from Warner’s bat runs down to thrid man fence. Warner was looking to steer the short ball in the same region.

Short ball, outside off from Holder and Warner slaps it to long-on fence.

After 2 overs,Australia 18/0 ( David Warner 9 , Aaron Finch (C) 8)

Windies lack express pace and they are relying on spin here. Roston Chase bowls this over. Two fours from it as Warner and Finch open their boundary account. A no ball leads to a free hit but it only accounts for a single. 13 from the over.

Fuller delivery from Chase and Finch crashes that through cover for a boundary.

Warner creates room by rocking back against Chase and picks up a boundary on off.

After 1 overs,Australia 5/0 ( David Warner 4 , Aaron Finch (C) 1)

Good first over by Akeal Hosein. The ball spun and there could have been an inside edge onto the stumps by Finch but the batter managed to negate the danger. Five from the first over.

Warner and Finch are at the crease. Left-arm spinner Hosein is bowling for Windies. Pollard is at short leg.

Australia need 158 to win! 

West Indies finish on 157/7 with Russell smacking two big sixes on the last two balls of the innings. They began well with Lewis and Gayle starting briskly but quick wickets brought Australia back in the game and they controlled the middle overs as well. Some late firework from Pollard and Russell has helped Windies post a respectful total.

Russell ends the innings with a maximum. Starc punished for bowling a full toss. A big shot down the ground.

Massive! Short ball and Russell sends it over mid-wicket fence, among the fans.

Kieron Pollard c Maxwell b Starc 44 (31)

The straight boundary is pretty long in Abu Dhabi and Pollard perishes trying to clear it. He gets caught at long-on.

After 19 overs,West Indies 143/6 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 44 , Andre Russell 5)

Just seven from the over. Russell got a four by tickling a yorker past the short fine leg fielder. One more over to go.

Russell manages to squeeze out the yorker from Cummins past the short fine leg fielder.

After 18 overs,West Indies 136/6 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 42 , Andre Russell 0)

Dwayne Bravo’s one final innings in international cricket is over. He departs after getting caught at long-on. Two boundaries in the over for Pollard who punishes Hazlewood for bowling on the wrong line, on the leg-side. 13 from the over.

This was sprayed onto the pads and Pollard tickled it behind the stumps for a boundary.

Fuller ball from Hazlewood and Pollard flicks it to mid-wicket for four runs.

Dwayne Bravo c Warner b Hazlewood 10 (12)

Bravo goes for a shot down the ground. Fails to find power and Warner takes a brilliant running and sliding catch at long-on.

After 17 overs,West Indies 123/5 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 30 , Dwayne Bravo 10)

A productive over for West Indies. 22 came from Cummins’ over with a four and six for Pollard. He smashed a fuller ball down the ground to find a four before pulling s hort ball over fine leg fence. Windies will be hoping for some more quick runs.

Maximum for Pollard! A pull shot results in a top edge that flies over the fine leg boundary rope.

Warner cut off a boundary on the last ball at wide of long-off area but this one was more straight from Pollard and he finds the boundary.

After 16 overs,West Indies 109/5 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 17 , Dwayne Bravo 10)

Starc back into the attack. Windies are now past the 100-run mark. Also a six in the over for Bravo who unleashed his favourite inside-out cover drive. 10 in total from the over.

The typical inside-out cover drive by Bravo over the extra cover fence off Starc. Lovely shot.

After 15 overs,West Indies 99/5 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 15 , Dwayne Bravo 2)

Five from Marsh’s over and West Indies are just one way from reaching the 100-run mark. Five more overs to go and we could see some fireworks now.

After 14 overs,West Indies 94/5 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 10 , Dwayne Bravo 2)

Just two singles from Zampa’s over. The risk taking from Windies batters have been minimal today after the fall of quick wickets at the start.

After 13 overs,West Indies 92/5 ( Kieron Pollard (C) 9 , Dwayne Bravo 1)

Hazlewood gets a wicket on his return and Windies are now five down. Hetmyer got himself into a tangle against a short ball from the pacer. The bouncer was on the leg-side, Hetmyer tried moving away from the ball but it tickled his gloves. Five from the over.

Shimron Hetmyer c †Wade b Hazlewood 27 (28)

Such a soft dismissal. A short ball on the leg-side from Hazlewood. Hetmyer was looking to get away from the bouncer but the ball brushed his gloves on his way to the keeper.

After 12 overs,West Indies 87/4 ( Shimron Hetmyer 24 , Kieron Pollard (C) 8)

DROPPED! Tough chance no doubt. Pollard fired his shot back to Zampa who got a hand to it but couldn’t stop it from popping out. Pollard ends the over with a four. Six from the over.

Pollard finds the gap on offside with a gentle drive to deep backward point.

Pollard finds the gap on offside with a gentle drive to deep backward point.

After 11 overs,West Indies 81/4 ( Shimron Hetmyer 23 , Kieron Pollard (C) 3)

Seven from Starc’s over. Windies are building cautiously here. The plan seems to be to attack at the end.

After 10 overs,West Indies 74/4 ( Shimron Hetmyer 19 , Kieron Pollard (C) 1)

Zampa breaks the partnership with his googly. Outfoxed Lewis who was trying to go for another slog sweep for a top edge that Smith took. Pollard is the new man in. Lewis had got a four on the first ball of the over with a sweep behind square. Nine from the over.

Evin Lewis c Smith b Zampa 29 (26)

Excellent bowling from Zampa. A googly to Lewis who went for a swipe. Top edge and Smith does very well at long-on to take a tough high catch.

Fuller and leggish ball from Zampa. Lewis slog sweeps it behind square.

After 9 overs,West Indies 65/3 ( Evin Lewis 25 , Shimron Hetmyer 17)

Marsh continues. Three singles before Hetmyer brings up a boundary with a powerful straight drive. The duo has steadied the innings. Another single added.

Boundary after a long time. Hetmyer brings it up with a ferocious straight drive which the fielder couldn’t stop despite putting in a dive.

After 8 overs,West Indies 57/3 ( Evin Lewis 23 , Shimron Hetmyer 11)

Adam Zampa has the ball now. He took 5/19 vs Bangladesh. Just four from the over — three singles and a leg bye. There was a run-out opportunity during the leg bye but the throw at the non-striker’s end was not accurate.

After 7 overs,West Indies 53/3 ( Evin Lewis 22 , Shimron Hetmyer 9)

Mitch Marsh is into the attack now. Just three from the over. Australia took a review for lbw against Lewis after he was hit on pads trying to play a pull shot. The impact however was outside off.

After 6 overs,West Indies 50/3 ( Evin Lewis 21 , Shimron Hetmyer 7)

One more four in the over and it’s 50 up for the Windies. Maxwell was guilty of bowling short and Lewis capitalised with a pull shot to fine leg. Powerplay over.

Poor half-tracker from Maxwell and Lewis pulls it with authority to fine leg fence.

After 5 overs,West Indies 44/3 ( Evin Lewis 16 , Shimron Hetmyer 6)

Hetmyer and Lewis have a big job here. Rebuilding is required but they would also not want to get into a shell. Seven from Cummins’ over. Three singles and a four for Hetmyer who creamed an outside off ball through cover.

Beautiful cover drive by Hetmyer. Nothing much wrong with Cummins ball, just that it was a shade outside off.

After 4 overs,West Indies 37/3 ( Evin Lewis 14 , Shimron Hetmyer 1)

Brilliant comeback by Hazlewood. He was hit for 20 runs in his previous over but two wickets in this over for the pacer. Pooran departed driving the offside ball to cover fielder. Chase got beaten by an away swinger and lost his stumps. Just 2 from the over.

Roston Chase b Hazlewood 0 (2)

What a ball! Hint of away swing. And Chase gets beaten on a drive as the offside ball beats the bat and clatters into the stumps.

Nicholas Pooran c Marsh b Hazlewood 4 (4)

Straight to the fielder. Outside off ball and Pooran wanted to drive it on the up. Extra bounce and the shot goes straight to cover fielder.

After 3 overs,West Indies 35/1 ( Evin Lewis 13 , Nicholas Pooran (W) 4)

Pat Cummins gets Australia the breakthrough. He was hit for a six on the first ball down the ground by Gayle, but the pacer responded with a wicket. Gayle got out inside-edging his drive onto his own stumps. Pooran starts off with a boundary.

Beautiful straight drive by Pooran to beat the mid-on fielder off Cummins.

Chris Gayle b Cummins 15 (9)

The Windies legend was looking in good form. He went behind the fuller ball for a drive on the up but ended up chopping it onto his own stumps.

Offside ball of Cummins ahs been slapped over long-on fence by Gayle.

After 2 overs,West Indies 24/0 ( Chris Gayle 9 , Evin Lewis 13)

Super expensive over from Hazlewood. His preferred back of length balls had been taken to cleaners by Lewis and Gayle. The first short ball was pulled to mid-wicket for a four. Another ball was inside-edged to fine leg fence and Lewis completed a hat-trick of fours with a shot down the ground. Gayle added a six with a pull shot. 20 from the over.

Gayle into the act. Swipes the short ball to deep mid-wicket boundary ropes.

Another fuller ball from Hazlewood. Lewis slams this over mid-on for a straight boundary.

Fuller ball from Hazlewood. Lewis goes for a big drive, inside edges the ball to fine leg fence.

Short ball from Hazlewood and Lewis swivels for a pull shot to deep mid-wicket.

After 1 overs,West Indies 4/0 ( Chris Gayle 3 , Evin Lewis 0)

Starc begins with a yorker and inside edge to backward leg fetches two runs for Gayle. Quick single on next ball with a push to mid-off. One leg bye on the next ball. Three dot balls to end the over.

Time for live action! 

Gayle, Lewis will begin the proceedings for West Indies. 

Starc has the new ball with him.

National anthems done…we are moments away from the match. It’s an important game for Australia but West Indie also need to win to qualify for 2022 T20 WC Super 12s.

Must win for WI!

It's a must-win match for West Indies today. If they lose, they will drop to Number 9 (according to the ICC T20 Rankings predictor). If they are outside Top 8 by November 15, 2021, they will not "directly qualify for Super 12" of T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. #AusvWI

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) November 6, 2021

Players who redefined T20 cricket…

West Indies XI: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran(w), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard(c), Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein

Australia XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

TOSS: Aaron Finch wins toss and Australia opt to bowl first.

Pitch report: The Abu Dhabi ground has small square boundaries, but straight boundaries are pretty long. There are a few cracks on the back of a length spot. It could be a difficult pitch to bat on.

Dwayne Bravo to retire

Bravo will retire from internationals after today’s game. The all-rounder won the T20 World Cup twice in 2012 and 2016.

Mitchell Starc is Australia’s ‘strike weapon’

Australia skipper Aaron Finch on Friday called Mitchell Starc their go-to bowler as they take on a wounded West Indies. 

“His record in all formats of the game is unbelievable, but particularly in T20 cricket, he is someone who has got so many skills,” Finch said of his pace spearhead.

“The ability to take wickets all through the innings with the new ball, at the death in particular, he is as good as anyone in the world.

“So absolutely he is a strike weapon that we love to use any stage we feel we can exploit someone or there is a little weakness, or you want to keep pressing through the middle overs. He is the one you turn to most times.”

Ageing West Indies must let go of the past if they aspire to court glory in future

Twenty20 cricket is a young person’s game. Sure, there is a place for experience, but unless you are Chennai Super Kings helmed by the extraordinary Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it is not the stage for ‘oldsters’. West Indies learnt that harsh reality while slipping to three defeats in four matches, signifying the end of their campaign. 

R Kaushik writes…

Squads:

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran(w), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard(c), Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Swepson, Josh Inglis

Head-to-Head:

West Indies have a big edge here with 10 wins as against Australia’s six. They also lead the stat 3-2 in T20 World Cups.

Bangladesh win give Australia NRR boost

Australia are the favourites to reach the semi-finals but that is because of their big margin win over Bangladesh in their last match. With their eight-wicket win over Bangladesh, where the Asian team was bowled out for 73, Australia boosted their net run rate from -0.627 to +1.031.

Australia are currently second in Group 1 table of Super 12s. They have six points, the same as South Africa who are third. However, Australia are ahead of the Proteas on the net run rate and a win over West Indies will make their qualification to the semis almost a certainty unless South Africa beat England tonight by such a big margin that they jump ahead of Australia on NRR.

Welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Australia vs West Indies T20 World Cup 2021 match. With a better run-rate than third-placed South Africa, Australia are in a pole position to qualify for the semi-finals from Group 1, however, they need to avoid a defeat against West Indies to get into the last four without a hiccup.