T20 World Cup: Australia has almost sealed its semifinal berth in the ongoing T20 World Cup. With a quick chase against West Indies, Australia is now in a comfortable position to qualify for the semis. South Africa needs to beat England by a big margin in order to beat Australia’s Net Run Rate and qualify for the next level. While David Warner shined on the batting front, Josh Hazlewood stood out on the bowling front.
T20 World Cup
The Aussies were dominating while chasing a moderating target of 158 runs. Openers Aaron Finch and David Warner (89*) gave a flying start right from the first over.
However, Finch was departed in the third over. That didn’t stop Warner from his carnage. He, along with Mitchell Marsh (53) continued smacking Windies bowlers all over the park. They made a partnership of 124 runs for the second wicket and ensured a win for Australia.
In the process, both of them completed their half-centuries as well. Marsh was sent back to the pavilion when Australia needed one run to win. But that didn’t matter as Warner finished things off in the next two balls. As a result, Australia scored 161/2 in just 16.2 overs.
The case was different for the Windies batters though. They struggled to score from the beginning. Australian bowlers dismissed Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, and Roston Chase within the powerplay and threw Windies into deep trouble. Then, Evin Lewis (29), Shimron Hetmyer (27), and Kieron Pollard (44) played responsible knocks and helped Windies in getting a respectable score of 157/7 in 20 overs. Josh Hazlewood (4-0-39-4) remained the top bowler for the Aussies by claiming four wickets.
If England manages to beat South Africa, Australia will be entering the semis. It can also qualify if England loses by a close margin, because of its better Net Run Rate than South Africa.