To be up against West Indies in the shortest format of the game can be both fun and challenging. There were high hopes from Kieron Pollard’s side ahead of a hectic summer, but it started on a rather grim note when they meekly surrendered a T20I series to South Africa.
However, the kind of dominance West Indies have displayed over the course of four matches against Australia has been exemplary. Had Andre Russell managed to connect even once in the first four balls off the Starc’s over, the score would have been 4-0.
But the defeat would not have caused much panic to the home side. There were too many positives that overshadowed the result. The foremost among them was Fabian Allen’s performance with both bat and ball.
In a high-scoring clash, Allen conceded just 31 and picked up a wicket before smashing four sixes off Riley Meredith to take the game to a propitious position. Another positive has been the hitting prowess of Russell, who was struggling in the IPL 2021, but is now striking the ball at his fluent best.
Australia, on the other hand, are still struggling with their middle-order combination. Halfway through in the last T20I, they were well on their way to a 200-plus total, but were let down by their inconsistent middle-order.
This is probably the last chance for both Ashton Turner and Alex Carey to reaffirm their credentials. Both have had terrible outings, and Australia may have to look elsewhere if they continue to misfire.
Matthew Wade has blown hot and cold as an opener. The place anyway belongs to David Warner once he returns, but Wade is likely to retain his place as a middle-order batter. Wade has got an ability to go all gun blazing but only if he can be more consistent.
Head to Head
West Indies have emerged victorious on eight occasions, and lost only six times.
Probable XIs
West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Fabian Allen, Hayden Walsh Jr, Sheldon Cottrell, Obed McCoy
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Josh Philippe, Ashton Turner, Moises Henriques, Ashton Agar, Daniel Christian, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa.
Prediction
West Indies to win the contest.