Australia have kickstarted their 3-match T20I series with England with a 28-run victory at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton on 11th September 2024. Travis Head hogged the limelight with his scintillating knock that helped the Ozzies win this game.
Batting first, Mitchell Marsh and co. managed to put up 179 runs in the 1st innings and were way short than the target they had set in their minds after the powerplay. Australia were 86 without the loss of a wicket at 5.5 overs and were looking all set to post a mammoth total at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
But they lost all their 10 wickets for just 93 runs and were unable to maximize on their powerful start. Southpaw Travis Head once again showed that he is the ultimate boss of T20I cricket after his power-packed knock of 59 runs in just 23 balls. It was an innings of the highest order and was packed with 8 fours and 4 sixes and he had a blistering strike-rate of 256.52.
England’s bowling department saw Liam Livingstone pick up 3 wickets and his scalps were Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis and Tim David. Jofra Archer bagged 2 wickets and his scalps were Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett.
England lost the plot in the run-chase
The Three Lions were struggling at 52 for 4 and the Ozzies were firmly in the driver’s seat of this game. Will Jacks, Jordan Cox and Phil Salt all departed within the powerplay and that opened the floodgates for Australia.
There were desperate attempts from Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone to resurrect the innings of England with their 54-run partnership for the 6th wicket but it was Australia’s Sean Abbott, who provided the breakthrough.
Sean Abbott was the pick of the bowlers for the Ozzies in this game as he bagged 3 wickets. His scalps were Phil Salt, Sam Curran and Saqib Mahmood and he stamped his authority with a lot of power and precision.
Australia eventually won the game by 28 runs and thereby completed a double over their arch-rivals in this format within the space of three months. Notably, the Ozzies had outclassed Jos Buttler’s England team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 by a margin of 36 runs at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
The 2nd T20I between these 2 sides is slated to begin from 13th September 2024 from 11:00 PM (IST). It will be played at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Also read: Virat Kohli Just 58 Runs Away From Breaking This Massive Record Of Sachin Tendulkar; Check It Out
