World Cup 2019: Five close encounters of the tournament so far

#3 Australia Vs West Indies at Nottingham

Nathan Coulter- Nile registered the highest score made by a No 8 batsman in a World Cup

Jason Holder put Australia in to bat on a cloudy morning at Nottingham and was expecting a similar performance from his bowlers that skittled Pakistan out for 105 from 21.4 overs.

The West Indies bowlers did enjoy the upper hand initially by putting Australia on the mat on 79/5 and then on 147/6. Steve Smith was the lone man standing amidst the flurry of wickets and was joined at the middle by Nathan Coulter-Nile. The burly all-rounder not only needed to support Smith at the other end, but also needed to contribute to the score.

Coulter-Nile mixed up his innings with patience and brute force as he notched up a 60-ball 92 and in the process also smashed the record for the highest score by a No.8 batsman in World Cup history.

Steven Smith's 103-ball 73 and Nathan Coulter-Nile's alliance worked wonders for Australia as the duo put up a 102-run stand that took Australia to 288-10 from 49 overs.

Mitchell Starc was unplayable at the death and Aaron Finch handled him excellently

The chase started on a disastrous note when West Indies lost both their openers for just 31 on the board. Shai Hope steadied the innings but he was slow in scoring 68 off 105 balls. Holder kept West Indies in the game with a half-century.

With Andre Russell and Jason Holder in the middle, West Indies were still in the game as Aaron Finch turned to his strike bowler Mitchell Starc to make an impact. Starc removed Andre Russell and struck again a few overs later to remove the dangerous Carlos Brathwaite and Holder in a single over.

At the point of Holder's dismissal, West Indies needed a further 47 runs to win from a little over four overs, a seemingly difficult task against a fiery Australian bowling unit. Despite a late surge from Ashley Nurse, West Indies fell short by 15 runs in the end.