England managed to register a narrow win in the first T20I against Australia. In a match where a total of 400+ runs were amassed by both teams, the fans were pushed to the edge of their seats until the last ball of the game was bowled. England managed to edge past the hosts in the high-scoring match by 8 runs to carry forward their brilliant run of form which they gathered in their series win against Pakistan a few days ago.
Australia meanwhile was left bamboozled after their bowling unit was taken to the cleaners at first which was followed by their batters falling marginally short of the target. It’s time for us to have a look at the top three talking points from England’s victory over Australia in the first T20I match.
3. Alex Hales has announced his arrival in fine fashion
Alex Hales who was newly added to England’s squad for the T20 World Cup owing to Johnny Bairstow sustaining a severe injury has well and truly set the stage on fire with brilliant performances on a regular basis for his side. The right-hander has smashed 226 runs in 7 games since his return to England’s T20I XI. Hales has shown brilliant execution of his trademark big-hitting abilities and also steers his innings for longer periods at a high strike rate.
He smashed a much-needed 84 off just 51 balls which helped his side register a total of 208 in 20 overs. Opening the batting with Jos Buttler he showed brilliant patience to play the anchor role with Jos Buttler going for the big shots. Once settled, he also took the bowlers on demand and amassed runs for fun. The way he’s displayed consistent performances since his return to the side, there’s no doubt that he’s well and truly ready to shine in the T20 World Cup.
2. Jos Buttler is back at his imperious best
Jos Buttler opened the innings for England after coming back from an injury and proved his worth once again. He smashed a whirlwind 68 off just 32 and helped England get off to an absolute flyer of a start batting first. His being in form was definitely an important thing for his side and it did happen with his not wasting any time to amass runs just like before.
The hard-hitting batsman smashed a total of 8 fours and 4 sixes to set up an amazing start to England’s innings. Buttler reminded everyone of how much danger he can be when he is in form. His good performances with the bat will be something which England will bank upon during the upcoming T20 World Cup for sure.
1. England’s bowlers did a fantastic job at the death to choke Australia’s run chase
Despite the batsmen stealing the show with their brilliant big-hitting abilities in the game, it was the bowlers who also had a really crucial impact in the game. Just minutes after seeing that Australia was in total control of the run chase and needed just 40 runs in the last four overs, the bowlers did a fantastic job to derail the innings with their brilliant execution.
Mark Wood, Reece Topley and Sam Curran lived up to their worth as they managed to outplay the likes of well-set David warner, Mathew Wade and Daniel Sams by dismissing them all, each of whom could win Australia the game on their own. The bowlers have away just 31 runs in the last four overs besides picking up three wickets to set up England’s win.
Also Read:- Complete List of India matches in the T20 World Cup 2022, Squad, INDvsPAK on 23rd Oct