Australia wins by 113 runs in dominant display

Feb 07, 2010

Australia's bowlers have blasted out West Indies' batsmen to record a comprehensive 113-run win in the opening match of the Commonwealth Bank Series at the MCG in front of 25,463 fans.

View scorecard

After Australia made 8-256 from its 50 overs, any chance the Windies had of victory effectively disappeared when they slumped to 3/12 in just the fifth over as they were eventually dismissed for just 143 in the 35th over.

Their premier batsman in skipper Chris Gayle lasted until just the first ball of the third over when he fell for seven - courtesy of a superb catch by Mitchell Johnson at mid-off, running the same way as the ball, off the bowling of Doug Bollinger.

The much-improved Ryan Harris then claimed Runako Morton and Bollinger struck again in dismissing Travis Dowlin in the next two overs to effectively end the match as a contest even before darkness had descended on Melbourne.

Harris, the man of the series against Pakistan when he took 13 wickets in just three matches, continued his stunning form since returning to the Australian side by finishing with 3/24.

The only West Indies player that could hold his head high was all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who not only took his career best one-day figures of 3/45 with the ball, but gave the Windies brief hope by top-scoring with 31.

But the dismissal of the man who starred for South Australia in the recent KFC Big Bash competition in the 25th over - caught by Johnson at long-on off the bowling of off-spinner Nathan Hauritz - ended any chance the Windies had of staging a late fightback.

Earlier, Shane Watson celebrated his 100th one-day international appearance for Australia by top scoring with 59 as Australia failed to build on a great start provided to it by Watson and skipper Ricky Ponting.

Australia looked poised for a huge score when it reached 1/118 after 25 overs but thanks to Pollard, the home side's total looked gettable before the visitors' top order collapse.

Watson and Ponting's 85-run stand was the highest of the match as Watson bought up his 50 in the 23rd over while Ponting fell just short when bowled by Pollard for 49.

Watson's half-century came off 65 balls with six boundaries although he had a big scare just before bringing up his fifty when he was almost run out on 49 as he attempted to scramble back to his crease - minus his bat - after slipping over mid-pitch.

But luckily for Watson, Gayle fumbled the ball at the bowler's end when a clean take would have seen Watson run out by yards in a moment that seemed to sum up the Windies' entire performance.

More News Articles