The stand-in captain Hussey was outstanding. In the last 20 overs Australia put up 150 runs with Hussey bringing up his ton with two consecutive fours in 49th over.

But it was the controlled West Indian aggression that caught the eye. Keeping wickets in hand they launched into a systematic all-out attack. Chris Gayle and Lara stepped on the pedal whenever the Aussies were thinking of a counter. Seventeen runs in the 13th over, 21 in 15th, 15 in 25th, 23 in 30th, 10 in 31st and 9 in 37th meant the target was always achievable.

Though there was the usual West Indies hiccup at the end but still Lara said, “I have the confidence in my players and I feel that it’s going to come right. Bravo took his time to get in and batted very well.’’

If it was hard to miss the show put up by Lara and Gayle, the performance of Bravo and Bradshaw too cannot be undermined. Bradshaw’s 10-1-35-2 and Bravo’s 2/52 and more importantly 37 not out proved that the West Indies, like so often in the tournament, doesn’t have a few good men.

The West Indies will see the return of form of Bravo and Bradshaw as a good omen before the Champions Trophy starting next month. It was the match-winning partnership between the two that helped the emotional favourites West Indies bring home the silverware two years ago.

Scoreboard

Australia

... contd.