Advertisment
Cricket Twitter Reactions

'Gabba me haar k badd good comeback' - Fans react as Australia steamrolls West Indies to register commanding 8-wicket win in 1st ODI

A spectacular spell from debutant Xavier Bartlett set the tone for Australia early on. Invited to bat first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, West Indies got off to a horrendous start.

author-image
Mathew K
New Update
AUS vs WI 1st ODI (Source: X)

AUS vs WI 1st ODI (Source: X)

A dominant display by the reigning world champions to register a thumping 8-wicket win in the first ODI against West Indies on Friday. Australia were hammered at their fortress Gabba in the second Test, but staged a brilliant comeback in the 50-over format to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. They restricted the visitors to a low score and completed the chase like a walk in the park.

Advertisment

A spectacular spell from debutant Xavier Bartlett set the tone for Australia early on. Invited to bat first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, West Indies got off to a horrendous start when Bartlett struck twice inside the powerplay. Justin Greaves fell for just 1 run in the second over and a couple of overs later his opening partner Alick Athanaze followed him to the pavilion without contributing much to the scoreboard.

Windies No. 3 Keacy Carty's search for a solid partner continued as Bartlett dismissed their captain Shai Hope. That ended when Roston Chase reached the crease in the 16th over. The duo put on a partnership of over 100 runs to slowly pull their team out of dire straits. Aussie spinner Adam Zampa broke the dangerous partnership with the wicket of Chase (59 off 67). 

Carty took charge of the scoring and looked set to notch up his maiden ODI century. But unfortunately, he had to return with 88 runs off 108 balls in a runout. Australia soon managed to wrap up the innings as Windies got bowled out for 231 in 48.4 overs. Right-arm pacer Bartlett finished with 4/17, earning him the Player of the Match award. 

Advertisment

Smith-Green massive stand steered Australia home comfortably 

The scoreboard was never going to intimidate Australia and Josh Inglis proved it right with his blistering start. World Cup final hero Travis Head continued his poor form and was dismissed for just 4 runs in the very first over. However, the wicketkeeper batter kept Australia in the front foot with a 43-ball 65 runs.

After Inglis' dismissal, Cameron Green and Steve Smith batted brilliantly and put on a massive 149-run partnership to see off Australia home comfortably. Both scored half-centuries as Australia cruised to an 8-wicket win with just over 11 overs to spare. Notably, this is the Men in Yellow's 10th ODI win on the trot against the Caribbean side. 

Advertisment

Here's how fans reacted to Australia's 8-wicket win over West Indies in the first ODI: 

Australia West Indies