World T20: Australia beat West Indies by 17 runs

Colombo, Sep 22 - Australia defeated the West Indies by 17 runs in a rain-curtailed Group B match of the World Twenty20 tournament here Saturday.

Australia were 100 for one in 9.1 overs and 17 runs ahead of the West Indies’ 191 for eight courtesy the Duckworth-Lewis method, before the match was called off amid heavy rain.

Shane Watson with Michael Hussey left the field on 41 and 28 after it started pouring at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Watson (41 not out off 24) came up with a brutal display of hitting to match Chris Gayle (54 off 33) and Marlon Samuels’ (50 off 32) effort during the West Indies innings.

Watson cleared the fence with ease, slamming three sixes and a couple of fours. David Warner contributed 28 off 14 balls to set the tone for a steep run-chase.

Australia’s star-all rounder had luck on his side, being dropped on 28 by Dwayne Smith at mid-wicket.

Earlier, Gayle and Samuels hit a barrage of boundaries to take the West Indies closer to 200. Both clobbered four sixes each during their fiery innings.

Gayle, as he often does, set the foundation for a big score and Samuels did the job in the middle overs. Dwayne Bravo chipped in with 29 off 21 balls towards the end.

Mitchell was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, taking three for 35.