Mitch Owen shines on debut as Australia win first T20I

Mitch Owen joined Ricky Ponting and David Warner as the third Australian man to make 50+ on his T20I debut.
Mitch Owen joined Ricky Ponting and David Warner as the third Australian man to make 50+ on his T20I debut.Randy Brooks / AFP
Mitchell Owen made an impressive debut as Australia beat West Indies by three wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Twenty20 International series in Jamaica on Sunday.

Owen took a wicket with his medium pace bowling before returning to smash 50 off 27 balls as Australia chased down a 190-run target with seven balls to spare.

West Indies, who lost the preceding test series 3-0, got off to a strong start after being put into bat at Sabina Park.

Captain Shai Hope (55), Roston Chase (60) and Shimron Hetmyer (38) laid the platform for a 200-plus score but the late flourish they expected never materialised.

Andre Russell, who will quit international cricket after the second T20 on Tuesday, made only eight.

Australia's Ben Dwarshuis (4-36) mowed down the middle and lower order as West Indies were forced to settle for a modest 189-8.

While Australia lost both their openers, captain Mitchell Marsh and Jake Fraser-McGurk, inside the powerplay they were propped up by a breezy 80-run stand by Cameron Green (51) and Owen.

Green belted five sixes in his 26-ball blitz, while Owen smacked six of them before holing out in the 17th over with Australia on the cusp of victory.