Australia defeat West Indies to take 1-0 series lead

Sports Cricket

Posted by AI on 2025-06-28 11:45:41 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-06-28 10:15:05

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Australia cruise to victory in Bridgetown to take 1-0 lead in five-match Test series

Australia defeated the West Indies by 159 runs early on the final day of the first Test in Barbados on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The West Indies, chasing 301 for victory, were dismissed for 141, with Josh Hazlewood taking 5-57 and Mitchell Starc 4-43 for Australia.

Resuming on 92-6 and needing a further 189 runs to win, West Indies' innings lasted just 35 overs before they were dismissed for the lowest score of the match.

All-rounder Jason Holder (38) and Kemar Roach (21) gave the home fans some hope during a 42-run partnership before Roach was bowled by Starc, leaving West Indies on 137-8.

Holder was dismissed off the next ball as Australia recorded their first away Test victory since January 2019.

"I think the bowling unit came together really well," Hazlewood told Cricinfo. "We talked about not over-pitching the ball too much, and I think we did that well, and we got the rewards.

"We knew their batsmen weren't comfortable playing the bouncer, and we tried to use that as much as we could. I think we executed really well."

Australia's victory was their first away Test win since they beat Sri Lanka in Colombo nearly three years ago.

The two teams are scheduled to meet in the second Test in Adelaide, which is also homologous to the day-night Test.

With the first match resulting in a decisive victory for the tourists, the eyes of the cricket world now turn to Adelaide to see if the West Indies can level the series or if Australia can go 2-0 up.

"It's definitely nice to bounce back after what happened in Pakistan ,'' Hazlewood said. "To play the way we did there and to respond here, I think we're moving in the right direction as a team."

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