(Reuters) – Dwayne Smith smashed a half-century before Fidel Edwards and Marlon Samuels bowled superbly to lead West Indies to a 14-run win over Australia in their second Twenty20 international today.
Smith belted 63 off just 34 balls, featuring six boundaries and four sixes, to get West Indies off to a great start at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Smith’s fellow opener Johnson Charles chipped in with 37 before the Australian bowlers, led by paceman Brett Lee (3-23), fought back and bowled the home team out for 160.
“I was pleased with the performance and glad we got a win,” said Smith. “I’ve been doing a lot of work on my batting, doing the things I know and it seems to be working.”
Australia suffered an immediate setback in their reply when Shane Watson, man of the match in Tuesday’s first game, won by the visitors, was dismissed for a duck in the first over.
Opener David Warner kept the runs ticking along at a steady pace with 58 off 43 but when he was run out, Australia’s chances went with him.
GREAT START
Edwards and Samuels shared six wickets, finishing with identical figures of 3-23, to restrict the tourists to 146-9 to leave the two-match series squared at 1-1.
“Great start from the West Indies, I think we pulled it back to about par, 160, and I thought we were on course to knock it off,” Australia captain George Bailey said.
“They put pressure on us, the wicket of David Warner was huge, run-outs change matches. The crowd were great and hopefully we provided some good entertainment.”
The teams also drew their five-match one-day international series, setting the stage for an intriguing test series, starting in Bridgetown next week.
“The work we’ve been doing in the camp and throughout the series has been paying off and I want to ask the boys to keep doing that,” said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy.
“We want to keep doing well in the tests and hopefully continue the good results.”