RSWS 2022: Australia Legends beat WI Legends by 8 wickets; Watson, Doolan century stand steals the show

The Australians sent a strong signal with their dominant show to the opposition and overhauled the target inside 15.1 overs. Watson and Doolan shared a stand of 131-runs for the first wicket as they decimated West Indies bowlers with their explosive hittings.

Rain might have played spoilsport in the last two days as four out of five matches of the Dehradun leg were washed out due to incessant rain. But the cricket fans were entertained to the fullest as batters entertained them in the first match of the doubleheader on Sunday.

It was raining sixes all through the Australian innings as their captain Shane Watson smashed 88 off 50 deliveries while his opening partner Alex Doolan scored 56 off 30 balls. A total of 18 sixes were hit in the Aussie innings out of which Watson hammered nine while Doolan struck six maximums.

The batters provided wholesome entertainment to the spectators and kept dealing in boundaries and sixes. Watson and Doolan’s blitzkrieg made the run chase look ridiculously easy for Aussie and the Men In Yellow overhauled the target convincingly. It was West Indies’ first loss in 5 matches and was a nightmarish evening for their bowlers.

While Kirk Edwards took a stunning catch to end Doolan’s knock, Watson missed out on a well-deserved century and failed to finish the game for his team as he was dismissed caught.

Earlier in the day, after winning the toss West Indies Legends captain Kirk Edwards elected to bat first but there wasn’t much bounce on the offer due to the dampness on the surface. The Men in Maroon ended up posting 178 for six in the 20 overs.

The Windies Legends, however, were off to a fine start in the powerplay as the opening pair of Dwayne Smith and William Perkins shared a stand of 34 runs. Perkins was trapped in front by medium pacer Nathan Readerdon in the fourth over but Smith – who has been the leading run-scorer in the tournament – once again unleashed his beast mode and targetted Australian bowlers all around the park.

The right-handed batter, Smith, hammered 33-ball 65 before off-spinner Bryce McGain ended his innings. His innings was studded with six boundaries and four maximums and West Indies were 98 when the former cricketer departed. He had, however, provided a good platform for the batters.

Having sent Smith back into the dugout, Aussie bowlers took a sigh of relief. Narsingh Deonarine (28 off 25) and skipper Edwards (46 off 33 balls) played some good hands in the second half of the innings. But once they were dismissed, Aussie bowlers came back strongly to prevent WI batters from posting more than 200. Dirk Nannes (2/32) and McGain (3/23) picked up the wickets at regular intervals for Australia Legends.