The hundreds of spectators from St.Kitts and Nevis, waited with baited breaths as the West Indies team started out in its quest to overtake the target set by the Australia team of 266 runs.
This as the two teams faced off at the Warner Park Cricket stadium on Monday 13th June.
The predictions flowed freely: Some spectators opined that the Windies would overhaul the target, ‘depending on which team showed up,’ while others were indicating that the Aussies would steam roll them, well under the target.
However, Steve Smith and his men had a lot of ‘plan B’s’ to put in place because openers Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher approached the target in T-20 fashion, in the first ten overs, slamming the ball to all parts of the Park, until Fletcher was caught off a ball that popped suddenly on him.
Thereafter, it was the Marlon Samuels show.
The talented right hander, teamed up firstly with the elegant Daren Bravo and later Denesh Ramdin to put the game fully into the control of the home team, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.
In one over in particular, he had the crowd literally on its feet as he took a liking to the leg spin of Adam Zampa and hit him for three consecutive sixes, all targeting the long off boundary, even though the first was mulled by debutant Travis Head, as he tried to keep it in, while tumbling over the rope.
He was then unfortunately run out for 92.
Earlier, when the Aussies batted, Khawaja, Captain Steve Smith and George Bailey, pounded the Windies bowling to all parts of Warner Park.
Khawaja must have shed a few tears, as he was run out on 98, while trying to sneak an improbable third run.
This was a day when the Windies fans went home jubilant and many stated openly that they plan to be back on Wednesday when the home team takes on the Proteas.
Summary of the match:
West Indies 266 for 6 (Samuels 92, Charles 48; Bravo 39) Zampa 2 for 69; Coulter-Nile 2 for 67; beat Australia 265 for 7 (Khawaja 98, Smith 74 bailey 55) Pollard 2 for 32 for 44 and Brathwaite 2 for 60; Holder by four wickets