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Kuala Lumpur, Sept 18: The West Indies survived a typical middle order collapse to pull off a shock three-wicket victory against Australia in a round-robin league match and confirmed their place in the triseries cricket final today.
Chasing a target of 273, the Caribbeans were cruising at 242 for three before they lost four wickets for 13 runs to give the three-time World Champions a glimmer of hope.
But all-rounder Dwayne Bravo (37 no) and wicketkeeper-batsman Carlton Baugh Jr. (7 no) kept their nerves to see their team home with 16 balls to spare in the day-night clash at Kinrara Oval.
Opener Chris Gayle made a well paced 79 to provide the West Indies a solid start despite a few early hiccups.
Captain Brian Lara then hit an accomplished 87 and in the company of Gayle put on 151 runs for the third-wicket stand before the Aussies fought their way back with some spirited bowling and fielding.
Australia's total of 272 for six was built around stand-in captain Michael Hussey's unbeaten 109, his maiden one-day hundred, and an equally aggressive 70 by Brad
Haddin.
The win gave four points to the West Indies and pushed their tally to nine from three matches, which would assure them of a final berth irrespective of the results in the remaining two matches.
The result also means India (2 points) and Australia (7) must win their remaining ties to make it to the final on Sep 24.
Australia have one match to go, against India on Sep 22, while India also have to play the West Indies on Wednesday.
Scorecard | Listen to Audio Report by Krish Srikkanth: (Agencies)
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