King seals series for Australia despite Matthews's heroics

Alana King continued her impressive return to the T20I side after being dropped against India last month, picking up 2 for 25 as Australia beat West Indies by 17 runs in the second T20I to seal the series.

Opting to bat, Georgia Voll gave Australia an explosive start, striking six fours and a six in her 54 before falling off the last ball of the Powerplay. The momentum carried on despite the field spreading, with Phoebe Litchfield (35 off 29) and Ellyse Perry (42 off 28) adding 58 off 44 balls for the third wicket. Litchfield hit three fours while Perry found the boundary regularly in what was a sluggish partnership but it kept the scoring rate up.

A late push from Georgia Wareham and Nicola Carey fetched 32 runs in the last four overs, lifting Australia to 164 for 5.

West Indies had a shaky start, losing Qiana Joseph to a run-out in the fourth over after a sharp throw from Litchfield. They did not lose another wicket in the Powerplay but managed only 26 runs, with Kim Garth setting the tone early with a tight spell (2-1-3-0), supported well by Carey, Darcie Brown and King. Hayley Matthews struggled initially, crawling to 1 off 12 balls.

Matthews, however, turned it around dramatically, taking the attack to the bowlers and keeping West Indies in the chase. She struck 56 off 37 balls, hitting seven fours and three sixes, and added 77 off 52 balls with Stafanie Taylor. Much of the scoring came against Brown, Tahlia McGrath and Carey as Matthews found boundaries with ease.

King, who had conceded 19 in her first two overs, came back strongly to break the stand, dismissing Matthews with a catch at mid-off. She then removed Taylor in her next over, effectively ending the chase.

Deandra Dottin's unbeaten 29 off 28 balls, along with a quick 34-run stand off 17 balls with Jahzara Claxton, reduced the margin of defeat but the damage had already been done by King's middle-overs strikes. West Indies finished with 147/4, well short of the target they needed to get over to level the series.

Brief Scores: Australia 164/5 (Perry 42, Voll 39) beat West Indies 147/4 (Matthews 56, Dottin 39*; King 2-25) by 17 runs