Australia proved yet again that they are the best Test team in the world as they registered a massive victory over West Indies by a huge margin of 277 runs in the second Test at Sabina Park, Kingston in Jamaica.
The Frank Worrell Trophy was once again clinched by the Aussies as they have been doing over the past two decades. West Indies were handed a complete whitewash in the two-match Test series after their hapless and awful performance.
Earlier in Day 3, Australia declared their second innings on 212 for the loss of two wickets only at an overall lead of 391 runs. Skipper Michael Clarke saw how the pitch was assisting bowlers and was bold enough to declare the innings with two days in hand.
West Indies lost their openers in the very first over of their second innings, courtesy - a fiery spelll upfront from Mitchell Starc. At the end of Day 3, West Indies were reeling at 16 after the loss of two wickets.
The hosts had ample time and wickets to get those runs and square the series. But the West Indies batsmen continued to disappoint yet again with their dismal batting performances. They kept on losing wickets at quick successions. Starc was the man firing with the ball as he knocked the stumps early on Day 4 while Shane Dorwich was facing him. Darren Bravo followed Dorwich soon as he fell to another pacer who has had a wonderful series, Josh Hazlewood.
The floodgates were opened after that. For, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon and Shane Watson wasted no time to clean up the rest of the West Indies batting lineup and seal the series.
Steve Smith replaces Sangakkara as No. 1 Test batsman
Meanwhile, Steve Smith displaced Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara in the Reliance ICC Test rankings to become the number one batsman in the world.
Smith smashed a 199 in the first innings and led the Aussie charge almost single handedly and came up with a half century in the second innings. His last 12 innings in the longer format of the game read like this: 162*, 52*, 133, 28, 192, 14, 117, 71, 25, 5*, 199, 54*. Smith was adjudged the man of the match for his brilliant batting in the second Test.
West Indies have a lot to worry about after their dismal show against the Aussies in the Test series. Skipper Denesh Ramdin was the highest scorer for the hosts with 29 runs in the second innings of the second Test match at Sabina Park in Kingston Jamaica. None of the batsmen showed promise during the series and that gives the team a lot to worry about ahead of their upcomings series.
Australia will move into the upcoming Ashes series against England with a lot of confidence as they were able to shift the momentum from the shorter format to the longer format perfectly. Their bowlers are looking in good shape and rhythm. Hazlewood would particularly give a tough competition to Ryan Harris, who will be joining the squad soon ahead of the Ashes in England.
