EVINTAGE KNOCK!
Fort Lauderdale, Aug . 27: Evin Lewis smashed an impressive century as West Indies piled up the third highest ever Twenty20 international total of 245/ 6 against India at Lauderhill on Saturday.
The 24- year- old Lewis, whose only other appearance in the game’s
shortest form had ended with a duck in the shock defeat to Afghanistan at the World Twenty20 this year, feasted on perfect batting conditions at the Florida venue.
Lewis, standing in for the injured Chris Gayle, reached exactly 100 off 48 balls with five fours and nine sixes and when he was out off the fifth ball of the 16th over, world champions West Indies were 205/ 3.
It was the fifth fastest T20 international century.
he highlight of Lewis’s innings was hitting five sixes off a Stuart Binny over, all of which sailed over the boundary on the back of a stiff Florida breeze.
The West Indies’ total was just short of Australia’s 248 against England in Southampton in 2013 while Sri Lanka’s 260 against Kenya at Johannesburg in 2007 remains the highest ever international T20 total.
With fellow opener Johnson Charles, Lewis put on 126 for the first wicket. The duo steered the West Indies past the 100 mark by the eighth over.
The 27year- old Charles reached his 50 off only 20 balls before he became the first man out, bowled by seamer Mohammed Shami for a lightning 79 off 33 deliveries.
Charles’s innings featured six fours and seven sixes and when he fell in the 10th over, the West Indies were well- placed at 126/ 1.
West Indies reached the halfway mark of their innings in record style — their 132 runs beating the previous best after 10 overs of 131 set by South Africa against England at Centurion in 2009.
Andre Russell ( 22) and Kieron Pollard ( 22) added late cameos to give Carlos Brathwaite the opportunity to mark his first game in charge with a much- needed win.
The hapless Indian bowlers were hammered for a record 21 sixes in the sensational batting display by the Caribbeans. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to insert the opposition in backfired as the West Indies batsmen rained 13 fours and 21 sixes on a flat pitch at Lauderhill ground. None of the Indian bowlers came out unscathed as they were butchered by the batting pyrotechnics of the world champions.
The earlier highest number of sixes in an innings was 19 hit by the Netherlands against Ireland in 2014. The 245 is the highest ever T20 score against India by any team, surpassing the 219/ 4 by South Africa in Johannesburg.
— Agencies Colombo, Aug. 27: Australia stand- in skipper David Warner has admitted that he is usually the main ‘ culprit’ whenever there is sledging going on but added that he understands the responsibility that comes with his new role.
Warner was entrusted with the role for the remaining three ODI games of the five- match series after Steve Smith was rested keeping in mind the upcoming series Africa.
“I’m usually front and centre and a culprit. I’ve had to tame it down a little after a bit of a good behaviour ( bond),” Warner was quoted as saying by news. com. au. “You do have to be careful and you do have to bite your tongue, and I am still guilty of it here and now. I do nudge that line, not cross it, as much as I used to. But that’s just what happens, it's the against South competitive edge when you're out there and when sometimes things aren’t going your way you do get a bit of white- line fever.”
Warner was penalised by the ICC for yelling at Rohit Sharma during a one- day international at the MCG last year.
In fact, the second ODI in Colombo saw Australia bowler Mitchell Starc and Thisara Perera of Sri Lanka receive warning for breaching the ICC’s code of conduct.