Sports Desk: Australia beat England by 28 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series. Batting first in Southampton on Wednesday, Australia scored 179 runs. In reply, England were bowled out for 151 runs.
The hero of Australia’s win is opener Travis Head. Australia got big runs on the scoreboard early in his batting rampage. Although later that fiber did not exist. But that capital is enough to win.
After losing the toss and going into bat, Australia got off to a great start. They picked up 86 runs in the power play. Credited to Travis Head. The left-handed opener scored 59 runs off just 23 balls. Hit 4 sixes with 8 fours in the blink of an eye. When Sam Curran came to bowl in the fifth over, Head confused him. He scored 30 runs by hitting 3 fours and a six in the over.
His fifty was completed before the power play. Head’s seventh record to reach a fifty before the end of the Power Play in T20 cricket. England needed to stop him to return to the match. Pacer Mahmud does that. While pulling the right-arm pacer’s short ball, Head took the catch at mid-wicket.
At the rate at which Australia were picking up runs, it looked as though they might reach 250 runs. But due to the great comeback of England’s bowlers, Australia could not play the entire 20 overs. Collapsed in 19.3 overs. After breaking the opening pair, the former world champions lost all remaining wickets to score 93 runs.
Head’s partner Matthew Short scored the second-highest 41 runs for the team. 26 balls short, 4 fours, and 2 sixes decorated the innings. In addition, Jos English, who scored the fastest century for Australia in T20, scored 37 runs off 27 balls. Besides, none of the rest could catch the lead of the party. Australia lost three wickets in three consecutive balls in the middle order. In the end, five batsmen could not even reach double figures.
The English bowlers came back brilliantly in the middle and at the end, even though they bowled uncontrollably in the beginning. Leg spinner Liam Livingstone was the best of the team with 3 wickets for 22 runs. Besides, Zafra Archer and Shakib Mahmud took 2 wickets each.
Livingstone was also the best of the England team in batting. The right-handed batsman scored 37 runs off 27 balls. Besides, none of the rest could even go to the house of thirty. Opener and captain Phil Salt scored the second highest 20 runs. Sean Abbott took 3 wickets for 28 runs for Australia with the ball in hand. Adam Zampa and Jos Hazlewood got 2 wickets each.
Australia advanced in the three-match T20 series. The second T20 match will be played in Cardiff tomorrow.
