West Indies produced a scintillating effort with both bat and ball to hand over another defeat to Australia in the ongoing five-match T20I series on Saturday. It was the second match of the leg, and the Windies crushed the visitors by 56 runs to take a 2-0 lead.
The hero of the match was explosive batsman Shimron Hetmyer, who lit up the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia with a wonderful 36-ball 61, including 2 fours and 4 sixes.
However, much before Hetmyer’s magical knock, it was opener Lendl Simmons, who laid the foundation of the big total by playing a quickfire knock of 30 runs at a strike rate of 142.86 with three maximums.
Simmons showed his vintage avatar and punished the Aussie bowlers right from the word go. During his short yet explosive knock, the right-handed batsman sent a ball on the roof at Daren Sammy Stadium.
It all happened in the 5th over of the Australian innings bowled by experienced pacer Mitchell Starc. The left-armer bowled a good length ball between middle and off-stump line, and Simmons quickly read it as he flicked the white leather for a huge six over square leg. The Trinidadian timed the ball so perfectly that it landed on the roof of the stadium.
Here is the video:
Simmons launches Starc out of the ground!
📺 WATCH: #WIvAUS https://t.co/iaYVTWQ3Ib
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📱 MATCH CENTRE: https://t.co/yZwQNm0xT2 pic.twitter.com/Tr0kbQmoDI— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) July 10, 2021
Apart from Simmons and Hetmyer, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell also made valuable contributions down the order to propel West Indies to a mammoth 196/4 in their allotted 20 overs. While Bravo scored 47 not out off 34 balls, Russell remained unbeaten on 24 from just eight deliveries.
In reply, the visiting side got bundled out for 140, losing the contest by 56 runs. Mitchell Marsh was the highest scorer for Aaron Finch’s Aussie team. Marsh made 54 off 42 balls, but no one supported him to form a decent partnership.
The third T20I will take place at the same venue on Monday (July 12).
