David Warner shined on his return to Australian colours in Hobart with his swift 70 off 26 balls, while Adam Zampa picked three wickets as Australia drew first blood against West Indies in the three-match T20I series.
Despite playing their best XI, with returns of Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, and Brandon King, West Indies fell shy of breaking Australia’s winning run at home in this format.
Australia batted after losing the toss, with Warner creating history by becoming the third Australian (after Finch and Maxwell) to play 100 T20Is; the first from the country and the third overall (after Kohli and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor) to complete 100 matches across all formats.
Having recently retired from the Tests and ODIs, Warner made this outing about himself as he whacked the West Indies bowler to all parts of the ground.
Alongside Josh Inglis at the top, Warner added 93 runs for the first wicket inside eight overs before stitching another brief stand with Covid-hit captain Mitchell Marsh. Right after Marsh’s wicket, Warner fell to Alzarri Joseph on a brilliant 70, striking at 194.44.
Late yet handy contributions from Tim David (37* off 17) and Matthew Wade (21 from 14) ensured Australia crossed the 200-run mark with ease. For the West Indies, Russell had a memorable outing, returning with three wickets.
In the chasing, West Indies team got off to a brilliant start, with King and Johnson Charles putting up an 89-run stand for the first wicket. Pooran and Captain Rovman Powell tried keeping up with the chase with massive blows, but Zampa and Maxwell tore into their middle order, puncturing their hopes of making any comeback in the game.
Despite their scorecard reading 163 for eight at one stage, West Indies still came close to completing the chase, thanks to an unbeaten 15-ball 34-run stay at the crease by Jason Holder.
Although they crossed the 200-run mark right in the last over, West Indies came second in this game, losing the match by 11 runs.
The iconic Adelaide Oval in Adelaide will host the second T20I on Sunday (Feb 11).