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After winning the opening game of the series by three wickets with one ball remaining on Wednesday, Australia again hosts West Indies as the teams move from the Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast to the Gabba in Brisbane for the second and final match. Read on as we preview this evening clash on Friday. This IT20 match gets underway at 18:10 local time.

Australia was able to get over the line in the first game of the series but there is still plenty of room for improvement with both bat and ball. However, they will be expecting to make it 2-0 in this game.

West Indies will be disappointed that they did not win Wednesday’s fixture after reducing Australia to 58-5 when chasing 146. We expect them to be competitive and to run Australia close again in this match.

AUS VS WI TEAM PREVIEWS

AUSTRALIA

Australia is hard to beat on home soil in any cricket format, but the West Indies proved that it’s possible to chip away at the tough façade.

Not that Australia won by luck at all, as captain Aaron Finch was just superb in chasing down 146 runs for the win. Finch made 58 runs from 53 balls, but he had a lot of help from keeper Matthew Wade’s 39 from 29, not out.

With Steve Smith left out of the side to focus on upcoming games against England, there was a notable lack of experience and calmness in the top order.

Plus, Glenn Maxwell and Tim David’s zero runs put a lot of pressure on the lower order, but a win is a win.

We saw excellent bowling from Josh Hazlewood, in particular, who took three wickets for 35 runs. Spin bowling was a bit ineffective, as Adam Zampa got thumped for 21 runs without a wicket.

WEST INDIES

Could the West Indies have held on to a win? Absolutely, but sloppy fielding and dropped catches gave Australia too many chances to pounce on the victory.

We loved what we saw from opener Kyle Mayers, who made 39 runs from 36 balls (5 fours and 1 six), but it wasn’t really until the lower order that the team got a bit more help.

Odean Smith’s 27 and Jason Holder’s 13 runs were much needed, but we can see at least Mayers picking up a 50 in the second T20.

With the ball, Alzarri Joseph shined by taking two wickets and only giving up 17 runs from four overs. Some better fielding in round 2 and there’s no reason why the West Indies can’t take the second game.

The visiting side has not been in Australia for six years and has won only one game in any format against Australia since 1997, that being a T20 victory in 2013.

With the first match jitters out of the way, the visitors will feel more confident and prepared for the second match.

AUS vs WI pitch report for 2nd T20I

The pitch at the Gabba is a good one to bat on with the average first-innings score at the venue being 159 runs. Pacers have accounted for 70 percent of the wickets at the Gabba. Batting first would be the preferred option, but humid conditions could make chasing an enticing option as well.

Australia vs West Indies Prediction

The two sides delivered a very tight match on Wednesday and a dropped catch in the final over was critical to the result. We expect the West Indies to push Australia all the way again at the Gabba and we predict the game will be close again. Overall, we are backing Australia to win.

Final Verdict

Australia are favorites to beat the West Indies.