T20 World Cup 2021, ENG vs AUS (Super 12): England registers 8-wicket win to stay in pole position for semis
England continued its fine run in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, as it defeated Australia by eight wickets in Dubai on Saturday. With this win, England stays in the pole position for the semis berth.
FollowFormer champion England continued its incredible run in the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. On Saturday, it defeated rival Australia by eight wickets in Group 1's Super 12 clash at the Dubai International Stadium, thanks to Jos Buttler's remarkable innings of an unbeaten 71. With this win, England stays on the top and remains in the pole position to book its semis berth, while Australia suffered its opening defeat of the tournament.
Winning the toss, English skipper Eoin Morgan opted to bowl, playing the same team. At the same time, Australian captain Aaron Finch made a change bringing in Ashton Agar for Mitchell Marsh. Australia was off to a rough start, losing David Warner (1), Steven Smith (1) and Glenn Maxwell (6) by the fourth over of the Powerplay, with just 15 runs on the board.
FULL SCORECARD: ICC T20 World Cup 2021, England vs Australia (Super 12)
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Marcus Stoinis (0) was trapped leg-before by spinner Adil Rashid in the seventh over six runs later. A 30-run partnership between Finch (44) and Matthew Wade (18) followed before spinner Liam Livingstone got rid of the latter in the 12th, at 51. Along with Agar (20), Finch put on a 47-run stand for the sixth wicket, as pacer Tymal Mills dismissed the latter in the 18th.
At 110, Finch and Pat Cummins (12) departed to pacer Chris Jordan in the 19th, while nine runs later, Adam Zampa (1) was run out, followed by Mitchell Starc (13) in the final ball, as Australia finished at a below-par total of 125. The English bowlers did a remarkable job of bowling at suitable lengths.
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Five English bowlers were put into the attack, with Jordan picking up three, while he was also very economical. In reply, England started with a bang, as openers Jason Roy (22) and Buttler (71*) put on a 66-run stand to build the chase platform before the former was trapped leg-before by spinner Zampa.
A 31-run partnership ensued between Buttler and Dawid Malan (8) as spinner Agar dismissed the latter in the tenth. However, with Buttler looking in good touch, it was an inevitable defeat for the Aussies. Along with Jonny Bairstow (16*), the former ensured a comfortable eight-wicket win within the 12th over.
The Aussies used five bowlers, with Agar and Zampa only claiming a wicket each, while the former was the most economical one from the side.
Brief scores: Australia 125 (Finch- 44; Jordan- 3/17) lost to England 126/2 in 11.4 overs (Buttler- 71; Agar- 1/15) by eight wickets.
