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Glenn Maxwell's breathtaking knock helped Australia clinch the three-match T20I series with a second consecutive win on Sunday at the Adelaide Oval.
Maxwell's unbeaten 120 off 55 deliveries and a clinical spell from bowlers helped the Baggy Greens inflict a 34-run defeat over the Caribbean side and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. While chasing a target of 242, West Indies suffered early blows with Brandon King (5), Nicholas Pooran (18), Shai Hope (0) and Johnson Charles (24) losing their wicket inside the powerplay. West Indies were reduced to 63/5 after Spencer Johnson sent Sherfane Rutherford back to the pavilion for a two-ball duck. Skipper Rovamn Powell and Andre Russell launched a counterattack with a 47-run stand. They entertained the spectators with a couple of boundaries and high-flying shots. But Marcus Stoinis brought in his experience and soon put an end to the promising-looking partnership. He ended Russell's quick-fire knock of 37 off 16 deliveries and after this Australia's victory was only a matter of time. Powell (63) waged a lone war but eventually fell to Adam Zampa's spin on the final ball of the 17th over. Jason Holder (28*) tried to pull off the unthinkable but the ball-to-run gap became unreachable forcing West Indies to settle a 34-run defeat. Earlier in the innings, after Powell won the toss and put Australia to bat, Maxwell's carnage guided Australia to another high-scoring total. In Hobart, Australia put up 213/7 on the board and this time in Adelaide they were even better with the bat. West Indies managed to strike early and removed the explosive opening pair of David Warner (22) and Josh Inglis (4). After the powerplay, Alzarri Joseph bagged the wicket of skipper Mitchell Marsh (29) inflicting woes on Australia. From that point, Maxwell didn't waste a single moment to get his innings going, targeting almost every bowler to raise his bat for a half-century in 25 balls. Stoinis stood on the other end while the explosive all-rounder did the majority of the scoring. Maxwell celebrated his remarkable knock by lifting his bat once again for a well-deserved ton in just 50 balls. After Stoinis departed, Maxwell and Tim David applied the finishing touches to propel Australia's score to 241/4. Maxwell and David went unbeaten with scores of 120* and 31* respectively. Brief Score: Australia 241/4 (Glenn Maxwell 120*, Tim David 31*; Jason Holder 2-42) vs West Indies 207/9 (Rovman Powell 63, Andre Russell 37; Marcus Stoins 3-36). (ANI)
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