WI vs AUS: Owen shines on debut as Australia beats West Indies by three wickets in first T20I
Mitchell Owen made an impressive debut as Australia beat West Indies by three wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Twenty20 International series in Jamaica on Sunday.
Owen took a wicket with his medium pace bowling before returning to smash 50 off 27 balls as Australia chased down a 190-run target with seven balls to spare.
West Indies, which lost the preceding Test series 3-0, got off to a strong start after being put into bat at Sabina Park.
Captain Shai Hope (55), Roston Chase (60) and Shimron Hetmyer (38) laid the platform for a 200-plus score, but the late flourish they expected never materialised.
Andre Russell, who will quit international cricket after the second T20 on Tuesday, made only eight.
Australia’s Ben Dwarshuis (4-36) mowed down the middle and lower order as the West Indies was forced to settle for a modest 189-8.
While Australia lost both its openers, captain Mitchell Marsh and Jake Fraser-McGurk, inside the powerplay, it was propped up by a breezy 80-run stand by Cameron Green (51) and Owen.
Green belted five sixes in his 26-ball blitz, while Owen smacked six of them before holing out in the 17th over with Australia on the cusp of victory.
