Kieron Pollard ton led West Indies to a comfortable victory over Australia – fourth ODI

West Indies 294-7 (Kieron Pollard 102, Adrian Barath 41, Shane Watson 2-55) beat Australia 252 (Brett Lee 59, David Hussey 57, Andre Russell 2-34) by 42 runs.

Kieron Pollard butchered the Australian bowling by thrashing 102 runs off 70 balls and took the match away from the visitors.

West Indies plundered 294 runs with three wickets still in hand in the allocated 50 overs and Australia was bowled out for 252 with 21 balls to spare.

Pollard was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his all round performance in the match with a century and one wicket along with one catch.

The fourth One Day International of the series was played at Beausejour Stadium,Gros Islet, St Lucia on March 23, 2012.

Earlier, Shane Watson won the toss, offered the batting to the home side and preferred to chase. Johnson Charles and Adrian Barath opened the innings for the Windies in a watchful manner and gathered just 10 runs in the first four overs. Barath opened up his shoulders by dispatching three consecutive fours at the start of the fifth over from Brett Lee and sent the ball twice out of fence in his next over.

The first fifty of the innings was scored in the ninth over as Barath was caught behind by Matthew Wade off Clint McKay for 41 off 31 balls with 9 fours. The first wicket fell at 56 and Marlon Samuels stepped in next as the flow of runs was checked by the Kangaroos. Samuels played a subdued innings and was gone for 11 scored off 41 balls at 83 as Charles departed after the addition of 23 runs in the total for 37.

The Caribbeans slumped to 146 for the loss of five wickets in 35.4 overs and they were heading towards misery when Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell stopped the invasion of the Aussies bowlers. Pollard was in aggressive mood ever since he arrived at the crease and Russell joined him later in the same mood. They punished Shane Watson for 17 runs in the 40^th over which included two fours and a six as Pollard completed his fifty three overs later.

Pollard believed in flying boundaries and charged McKay for a four accompanied by a six in the 44^th over. He gave a harsh treatment to Watson in the next over by hitting two sixes but got a life in the 46^th over when he was dropped by Xavier Doherty off McKay for77 runs. The duo contributed 94 quick runs in 64 balls when Russell was gone for 34 and Darren Sammy came in next.

Pollard smashed his ton on the second ball of the 50^th over with a six but lost his wicket on the next ball for 102 off just 70 balls which comprised 8 towering sixes and 5 fours. Sammy remained unbeaten for 31 from mere 13 deliveries with two sixes and three fours as West Indies amassed 294 runs after losing seven wickets in 50 overs.

Brett Lee, Shane Watson and Doherty were the top wicket takers with two each as Clint McKay held one.

Australia had a dismal start as David Warner was caught at mid-on by Sunil Narine off Dwayne Bravo for one as the score board displayed three runs. Shane Watson and Peter Forrest opted for attack and the boundaries were coming easily as the first dispatched one six each in the fourth and fifth over. They added 53 quick fired runs in 42 deliveries when Watson went back to the pavilion for 28.

The middle order batting took a start but they were unable to consolidate and were five wickets down at 112 runs in 20.3 overs. David Hussey and Matthew Wade tried to stabilise the innings as the latter was dropped on the last ball of the 29^th over by Pollard at off Sammy at seven runs. David Hussey was the dominant partner and he dispatched boundaries at his will and they compiled 67 runs for the sixth wicket.

Wade was caught by Andre Russell at long off for 15 off Kieron Pollard and the sixth wicket was gone at 179 runs. Hussey was bowled for 57 off 54 balls with 7 fours with the addition of 17 runs in the total and things started looking gloomy for the visitors. Lee took over the charge and murdered Kemar Roach for 24 runs which included two lofty sixes and three fours as the wickets kept on tumbling at the other end. The same treatment was awarded to Russell when he was hit for a couple of sixes in the 45^th over.

Brett Lee was the last batsman to be dismissed for 59 off 48 deliveries with five powerful sixes and even fours when Australia was bowled out for 252 runs in 46.3 overs.

Kemar Roach, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell shared two wickets each as Sunil Narine and Pollard claimed one wicket each.

West Indies won the match convincingly by 42 runs and they are leading the five match series 2-1.