T20I tri-series: Australia vs England, 5 talking points

The second match of the T20I tri-series, featuring New Zealand, England and Australia, held between the two Ashes rivals ended with Australia cantering home with a 5-wicket win.

England were sent in to bat first and got off to a rollicking start but courtesy of some tight bowling and rash shots, they could just score 155/9 in their allotted overs. Chasing 156 for their second win in the tri-series, Australia won the match by 5 wickets and with nine deliveries to spare at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

Here are the 5 talking points from the match.

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#1 Dawid Malan’s rescue act after the loss of early wickets

With England losing Jason Roy with the scorecard reading just 16, Dawid Malan entered the crease and along with Alex Hales, sent the new ball bowlers all over the park.

While opener Hales was dismissed at 22, off 15 deliveries, Malan carried on in a desperate bid to build partnerships with the other batsmen. While he raced away to a 36-ball 50, with five boundaries and two sixes, none of the other English players could score more than 16.

Chris Jordan played a cameo towards the end of the innings, scoring 16 in just 11 deliveries, but with the others hardly supporting him, the run-rate, which was almost 10 runs per over in the start, fell rapidly and England could manage just 155 on the board.

#2 Ashton Agar and Glenn Maxwell bring Australia back into the game

After England had raced away to 94/2 in 9.3 overs, the pressure was on the slower bowlers to bowl Australia back into the game. The spin duo of Ashton Agar and Glenn Maxwell did not disappoint, stopping the flow of runs and taking crucial wickets that choked England’s pursuit of a competitive target.

While Agar had Hales dismissed in the very first delivery he bowled and Sam Billings in the last over of his spell, Glenn Maxwell started off with a four, which Eoin Morgan muscled away to deep cover.

However, the very next ball, he had him caught by Warner off an off break delivery that took the top edge. He sent back Malan as well as David Willey off consecutive balls and was on a hat-trick, which was denied when Adil Rashid picked up a single.

The duo gave away 25 runs in their 5 overs, picking up 5 wickets between them to stem the flow of runs from the English batsmen.

#3 D'Arcy Short hands Australia a roaring start

After David Warner fell for just 4 in the second ball of the innings and Chris Lynn followed suit with a duck in the fourth ball, the onus was on D'Arcy Short to hold on end up and allow Australia to race away from the jitters. He started on an attacking note, smashing Mark Wood for two consecutive boundaries in the second over.

He raced away to a quickfire 30 in just 20 deliveries, also hitting Willey and Tom Curran for a six each. Before Maxwell could find his groove and settle down, Short ensured that his cameo at the top swayed the momentum from the English side towards the home team.

#4 Willey’s double strike sends Australia into worry mode

Bowler Willey could not have asked for a better comeback after being hit in the very first ball for a four by Warner. The fast bowler had Warner caught by Hales in the very next ball. A short ball to the left-hander was met with a pull, but it did not gain as much flight as Warner would have liked and it ended up at deep square leg, where Hales held on to the catch.

Two balls later, he had last match’s hero Lynn bowled as well. A fuller length delivery swung back into the batsman at full pace, beating Lynn’s attempt to loft the ball for a drive and the scorecard read 4/2 in just four deliveries!

He later cleaned up Travis Head as well, to finish the match with figures of 3/28 in 3 overs.

#5 Maxwell’s century seals the game for the Aussies

After picking up 3 wickets in 2 overs, Maxwell returned to frustrate the English with an array of shots and power-hitting that emphatically sealed the game for the Kangaroos.

Coming in to bat after Lynn had departed for a duck in the first over of the game, Maxwell, along with Short, took time settling in, before the former went on a rampage. He hit Jordan for fifteen runs in the sixth over and in the very next, dispatched Rashid for two consecutive sixes. He was dropped in the eighth over by Hales and England paid heavily for the slip-up, as the right-hander raced away to a hundred in just 58 balls.

The second T20I hundred of his career was laced with ten boundaries and four sixes. With Australia needing one to win and with Maxwell on 97, the swashbuckling hitter smashed Wood for a six that brought up his ton. For his all-round efforts, he was also declared as the Man of the Match.