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Australia thrashed West Indies in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) to win the three-match series 2-1. Under the leadership of Alex Carey, the visitors outshined the hosts by six wickets at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Opting to bat first, West Indies got bundled out for a mere 152 in 45.1 overs, courtesy of top-class bowling by the Aussies. Bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc continued his breathtaking run in the Windies tour and picked up three wickets for just 43 runs from 9.1 overs.
Apart from Starc, Josh Hazlewood (2/18), Ashton Agar (2/31), and Adam Zampa (2/29) displayed outstanding bowling skills to demolish the home team’s batting unit completely. Only Evin Lewis could stand up tall in front of the brilliant bowling attack, hitting a crucial half-century. The opening batter made 55 off 66 balls, with the help of five fours and three sixes.
In reply, the touring party chased down the paltry target in 30.3 overs with six wickets in hand. Matthew Wade was the star in the batting with a remarkable fifty, which helped his team get over the finish line.
Wade scored unbeaten 51 runs from 52 deliveries, including five fours and two sixes. Captain Carey made 35 off 50 balls, while Mitchell Marsh contributed 29 from 21 deliveries.
Agar, who picked up two wickets, scored unbeaten 19 runs and formed a match-winning 54 runs partnership with Wade. For his all-round show, Agar was named ‘Player of the Match’. Similarly, Starc, who ended up as the highest wicket-taker (11), was named ‘Player of the Series’.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Teamwork from Australia:
Pace: 17.1-1-61-5
Spin: 28-4-83-5#WIvAUS— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) July 26, 2021
Australia win the series, but it has been a tough tour. Opportunities gone begging for middle order spots. Still a lot of uncertainty for a final squad for the T20WC later this year. #WIvAUS #T20WC
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) July 27, 2021
Australia claim a 2-1 series win! ✅
The visitors surge to a six-wicket triumph over West Indies in Bridgetown.
Matthew Wade the pick of the Australian batters with 51* off 52 balls.#WIvAUS | https://t.co/H7Cnw8uGeX pic.twitter.com/E0udACVTYx
— ICC (@ICC) July 27, 2021
Champions! Well done lads! And a huge congrats to Mitchell Starc: Player of the Series. Deservedly so! ♥️ #WIvAUS pic.twitter.com/Vi3HXEpUuA
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) July 27, 2021
The final ODI of the #WIvAUS series has been another reminder of how we’re in an era of high-quality spin bowling & rather mediocre-quality batting against spin across formats and countries
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) July 26, 2021
Most wickets in a streak of 100 or less consecutive ODI matches:-
194* – MITCHELL STARC🇦🇺
193 – Saqlain Mushtaq🇵🇰
187 – Allan Donald🇿🇦
185 – Muttiah Muralitharan🇱🇰
185 – Brett Lee🇦🇺Starc currently has 194 wickets in 99 ODIs of career.#WIvAUS
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) July 26, 2021
The CG Insurance ODI Series silverware goes to @CricketAus 🏆👏🏽
Thanks to the two teams for a well contested series!🌴🇦🇺🏏#WIvAUS #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/f8TN5Uj3TF
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 27, 2021
That’s it! Wade and Agar steer Australia home to win by 6 wickets. A lot to digest from this tour. #WIvAUS
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) July 27, 2021
Nobody has taken more ODI wickets against the West Indies at a better average than Mitchell Starc.
32 wickets @ 12.03, SR of 16.1#WIvAUS
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) July 26, 2021
After being completely outplayed in the T20I series, Australia pulled things back with a 2-1 win in the ODI series
Mitchell Starc was special, taking 11 wickets @ 10.64 and was the Player of the Series#WIvAUS
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) July 27, 2021
Mitchell Starc in the ODI series against West Indies:
8-1-48-5
10-1-26-3
9.1-0-43-3– Man of the series award.
– Most wickets.
– Best bowling figures.
– Best bowling strike rate.
– Most five-wicket haul.Mitchell Starc is back with a bang. pic.twitter.com/LcpVL9Jav3
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 27, 2021
Mitchell Starc (4) has equalled Waqar Younis' (4) tally of getting most Man Of The Series award as a pacer in ODIs. Starc hasn't even played 100 ODIs and he's equalled the tally, what a bowler.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 27, 2021