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B
Lee
Man of the Match & Series |
Kuala Lumpur, Sept 24: Australia served a timely warning to Champions Trophy contenders by clinching the cricket tri-series with a crushing 127-run victory against the West Indies in the final here today. The Aussies, who fielded their best eleven, put up a commanding all-round performance on the big day by posting a challenging 240 for six and then skittling out the Caribbeans for a paltry 113 in the day-night clash at the Kinrara Oval. After Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds set the stage for three-time world champions with timely half-centuries, Brett Lee turned in a powerful fast bowling performance of 4-24 to blow away the Windies line up.
It made Lee the most successful bowler of the series with 11 wickets. Nathan Bracken was equally impressive with figures of three for 15 while all-rounder Shane Watson chipped in with 2-30. The Windies, holders of the Champions Trophy, suffered their fourth successive batting failure, triggered by the leg before dismissal of Chris Gayle to a toe-crusher from Lee off the first ball of the innings. Only three batsmen - Ramnaresh Sarwan (36), Dwayne Smith (30) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (12) - made double digit scores while four were out for
nought.
It was the third lowest total and the margin of win was the second highest in terms of runs in matches between the two teams. India, the third team in the fray, failed to make it to the final after registering one win in their four league matches. The teams now move to India for the Champions Trophy from October 7 to November 5. Australia have never won the biennial event since its inception in 1998. The Aussies, electing to bat, rode on the back of identical scores of 52 by Martyn and Symonds to set the West Indies a challenging target.
Martyn and Symonds helped the team overcome a tentative start after the loss of Simon Katich (25), Shane Watson (18) and skipper Ricky Ponting (6) with only 80 on the board. The duo added 73 runs for the fourth wicket in what turned out to be a match-winning partnership. Michael Clarke (23), vice-captain Michael Hussey (30 n.o) and Brad Haddin (17 n.o) then boosted the innings with some energetic batting towards the close.
Martyn was his stylish self, driving through the off side confidently despite an "indentation" in the good length area that claimed Ponting leg before wicket. Symonds, on the other hand, displayed his power hitting with two meaty sixes off Bravo and Gayle on way to his 19th ODI fifty. Clarke's run-a-ball 23 was crucial in turning on the momentum for Australia from a sluggish 3.33 an over run rate till the 30th over to close to five in the end. Hussey and Haddin provided the late thrust with a six each and saw 40 runs come from the last four
overs. Scorecard | Listen to Audio Report by Krish Srikkanth: (Agencies)
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