ADELAIDE, Australia-WEST INDIES are now out of reach of Captain Chris Gayle’s prediction of a 4-1 One Day International series win over Australia, as they were put down in the series 2-0 on an eight wicket defeat earlier today (Feb. 9).
The loss of Gayle lbw on the first ball of the day from Doug Bollinger set a defeated tone for West Indies from the start. Bollinger picked up Gayle for the fourth time this season, adding credence to Australian Shane Watson’s bold media claim that they had discovered the West Indian powerhouse’s weakness.
“That's a big key to him. You don't really want to give him room to be able to swing his arms. Dougie bowled beautifully to him. It's always going to be pretty difficult with Dougie bowling exactly where he wants to with a bit of bounce and a little bit of swing,” Watson said following the side’s victory in the first ODI.
Bollinger continued to be lethal following Gayle’s dismissal, picking up wickets from Runako Morton and Lendl Simmons in the upper order. Clint McKay also proved crucial for Australia as he was able to dismiss Travis Dowlin on a shot that was pulled short and left West Indies teetering at 16/4 in the sixth over.
As it had been in the first ODI, the pressure was now on the middle order batsmen to deliver a lot of runs very quickly if West Indies had any hope of staying competitive in the match.
Narsingh Deonarine and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin momentarily turned around the visitors’ fortunes with a 46-run partnership across 10 overs, but their rally was cut short when Deonarine (23) fell on a mildly questionable lbw call as he faced Mitchell Johnson.
Ramdin was eventually finished at 30, after which allrounder Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith had their good starts quashed at 32 and 43, respectively, by the continued bowling pressure.
West Indies held on for 39.4 overs despite their wobbly start, but the amassed 170 runs were never going to be enough for a match victory.
Opener Shaun Marsh set a good tone for Australia in their comfortable chase by amassing 27 from 27 balls before he was bowled by Smith. It was not long after that fellow opener Watson reached his half century.
Watson was eventually brought down by Kemar Roach, who had troubled him significantly in last year’s Test series, but the loss was of little significance as Captain Ricky Ponting (57) and Michael Clarke (27) reached the target of 171 in 26.3 overs.
The third of five scheduled ODIs between the sides will take place on Friday (Feb. 12) in Sydney at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
