ENG vs AUS: 3rd T20I – Australia regain the top spot with a victory
Australia did concede the three-match T20I series by 2-1 to England but managed to save their number one spot in the T20I rankings with a five-wicket win. The visitors claimed their first victory on the tour by chasing down England’s total of 145 runs at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. Mitchell Marsh picked up the Player of the Match Award whereas Jos Buttler was adjudged as the Player of the Series. Here are the talking points from the Aussie win.
Runs for Bairstow
Whack ?
Changing gear ⚙
Live score/clips: https://t.co/I4P2yq86cT pic.twitter.com/jafQcnAVEX
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 8, 2020
England’s opener Jonny Bairstow had a lean patch at the top in the last few T20I encounters but the wicketkeeper-batsman recovered his touch in the final game. In the absence of his illustrious partner Jos Buttler, who skipped the game due to personal reasons, Bairstow began his innings slowly. After being 21 off 24 balls at one stage, he accelerated to finish on 55 off 44 balls. England will be relieved to see him back amongst runs with the ODI series approaching.
Australia keep the choke on
Despite the best efforts from Bairstow and Moeen Ali (captain in this match with Morgan resting) to take England towards a solid total, the Australian bowlers kept the pressure by picking up regular wickets. While the spinners were expensive, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood delivered their eight overs in which they conceded only 43 runs and took two wickets. Joe Denly’s adventurous 29 not out from 19 balls eventually saw England post 145/6 in their 20 overs.
Finch and Stoinis take Australia closer
Austalia experimented in their final T20I appearance as Matthew Wade partnered Aaron Finch at the top. While Wade fell early, Finch and Marcus Stoinis made the most of the powerplay overs. Australia found themselves at 61/1 at the end of the first six overs. They looked poised to finish the match early without any hiccups.
Rashid turns the game
Siri, show me the perfect googly…
Look no further ?
Live clips: https://t.co/I4P2yq86cT#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/K3h6T7Hxuc
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 8, 2020
Tom Curran dismissed Stoinis in the eighth over but Australia were still ahead of the game with them being 86/2 after 10 overs. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid turned the things around by dismissing Glenn Maxwell and Finch in the same over. His googly to castle Finch was the ball of the match. In his next over, he sent back Steve Smith. Australia were now in a precarious position at 100/5. Marsh played the match-winning innings of unbeaten 39 runs from 36 balls to ensure there were no further wobbles. Australia finished the game with three balls remaining.
England and Australia will now feature in a three-match ODI series starting from 11th September.
