Australia reach Super Eights with Windies win

West Indies cricket captain Darren Sammy (R) reacts during the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup match between Australia and West Indies at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 22, 2012.  — Reuters

COLOMBO - Australia reached the Super Eights at the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday as opening batsmen Shane Watson and David Warner hammered quick runs to help win a rain-hit game against West Indies by 17 runs in Group B.

Warner hit two sixes and three fours in a 14-ball 28 run innings while Watson struck an unbeaten 41 in 24 balls including three sixes and two fours to hand West Indies a cruel defeat.

Australia were 100 for one when rain stopped play after 9.1 overs, 17 runs higher than the Duckworth-Lewis target of 83 runs at that stage following West Indies’s fine innings of 191-8.

Watson, who was dropped at 28 with the ball clearing the rope for a six after bouncing out of Dwayne Smith’s hands, shared an unbeaten 70 partnership with Michael Hussey in 42 balls for the second wicket. Hussey was 28 not out in 19 balls.

West Indies’ big hitters Chris Gayle (54) and Marlon Samuels (50) got quick fifties with the pair hitting four sixes each.

Gayle, dropped at four by Watson, went on to hit his eighth fifty in the shorter version of the game.

Watson (2-29) captured two wickets including Gayle and another big hitter, Kieron Pollard, while Mitchell Starc (3-35) got three wickets including two in two balls.

Australia have qualified for the Super Eight stage by winning their first two round-robin games.

West Indies, among the favourites for the title, must win their last group game against Ireland on Monday to proceed to the Super Eights. — Reuters