@Cricket Australia

Australia beat the West Indies by three wickets in a nail-biting finish at Sabina Park in Kingston, and Mitchell Owen received the Player of the Match award. It was an explosive 50 off 27 balls with towering sixes that changed a presumably imminent loss to a memorable moment by the 23-year-old. 

Australia's chase appeared to be ending with a definitive defeat when they were at 78 for 4, where Mitchell Owen joined the attack with Cameron Green, who contributed his own explosive 51 off 26 balls. Both smashed the ball around the ground, ending an 80-run partnership from 40 deliveries to rescue their team from the brink. Own is the third Australian with a half-century debut after Ricky Ponting and David Warner.

West Indians had a strong new-look top order, with Brandon King, who hammered four boundaries in the first three overs. Adding Roston Chase’s whopping 60 runs for 32 balls and Shai Hope’s 55 runs for 39 balls, West Indies' batting seemed impenetrable at one moment. However, Ben Dwarshuis's masterful death bowling at the end of the innings led to a devastating collapse of the West Indies batting lineup. Getting three wickets in the 19th over just for one run, left-armer ended his pair claiming 4 wickets for 36 runs. The hosts lost four wickets for just seven runs in their final 16 balls. 

After receiving the Player of the Match award, usually opening batter, Owen said his approach to the match remained unchanged despite batting at number 6 rather than his usual opening position: "For me, I've been trying to play positive for the last six to eight months. Today was no different. The only difference is five fielders out.” He said. Owen's parents and girlfriend were visible celebrating in the stands as he reached his half-century with another trademark six down the ground. 

This series represents a crucial phase in both teams' preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Australia has scheduled 16 T20I fixtures leading into the tournament, with this Caribbean tour marking the beginning of an intensive preparation phase. Captain Mitchell Marsh emphasized the importance of building combinations, particularly with several key players rested for this series.

"Really good performance. From the way West Indies started, they put us under pressure. To pull the West Indies back, it was fantastic," Marsh commented post-match. "Anytime you get a young player performs like that for Australia... The bowling performance in the back end, and just the way we kept going with the bat... nice to win."

For the West Indies, this series marks Andre Russell's farewell from international cricket, with the veteran all-rounder playing his second-to-last match for his country. They have not played well in recent T20 cricket, and have lost two of their last 16 T20Is, including 3-0 series sweeps to both Bangladesh and England.

The second T20I, scheduled for July 23 in Kingston, will serve as Andre Russell's international farewell match, adding significant emotional weight to the encounter. West Indies captain Shai Hope acknowledged his team's shortcomings: "We left ourselves 20 or 30 runs short in the back end. With the ball, we didn't take as many wickets as we wanted to."

The win augers well with Australia who completed a 3-0 whitewash Test series win in the region earlier this month. The tourists will be assured of increase lead in what is to be a thrilling series and Owen breakthrough performance will bring more depth to the batting line up.