Inspired by mercurial allrounder Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies claimed a series-levelling 14-run win over Australia in the second Twenty20 in Barbados.
Bravo brought the big crowd at the Kensington Oval to life when he brilliantly ran out Australian opener David Warner to derail the tourists’ bid to chase down 161 for victory.
Warner’s dismissal for a 43-ball 58 sparked a Windies’ fightback as Australia went from 3-98 to finish 9-146 off their 20 overs in reply to the home team’s 160.
The victory ensured the Windies grabbed a share of the spoils in the two-match series, which finished 1-1.
Windies captain Darren Sammy said Bravo’s direct hit at the striker’s end from mid-on as Warner attempted to snatch a second run was undoubtedly the spark which ignited his team’s fast finish.
“I think that was the game-changer right there. Warner was batting really, really well,” Sammy said.
“That’s something Bravo is used to doing. He’s an impact player and today he had a big impact with that run-out and from there the momentum just shifted.
“We kept pushing at them and we won in the end which was good.”
Bravo’s moment was one of several momentum-changing incidents in the match which began with Windies opener Dwayne Smith belting a career-best 63 off 35 deliveries as the hosts raced to 100 inside 10 overs.
But the former NSW representative’s dismissal, after being particularly harsh on young fast bowler James Pattinson (0-34 off two overs) with three sixes in one over, set the stage for an Australian fightback.
Led by Brett Lee (3-23), Australia took 8-50 to bowl out the Windies with two balls remaining.
From there the match seemed the tourists to win before Bravo’s impact and some fine bowling at the death by part-timer Marlon Samuels (3-23) and Fidel Edwards (3-23) ensured Australia’s seven-year wait for a T20 series win overseas continues.
“That’s Twenty20,” Australia captain George Bailey said of Bravo’s match-turning moment.
“That’s the crux of it. It’s one run-out, one ball. It’s an over or an innings that turns the game.
“For us to be a good team, you’ve got to be winning the majority of those. Particularly when you get into a situation where, even with Davey’s run out, we had a platform to go on and win the game.”
