Perfect Australia defeat England by 68 runs in the 2nd ODI, take a 2-0 lead

Perfect Australia defeat England by 68 runs in the 2nd ODI, take a 2-0 lead: Mitchell Marsh-led Australia emerged victorious in the second One Day International match of the five-match series as they secured a 68-run victory over Harry Brook?s England.

Alex Carey?s delightful 74 run knock and a fascinating bowling performance by the experienced Aussie duo of Josh Hazlewood (2-54) and Mitchell Starc (3-50) helped the visitors secure a comfortable victory over the hosts.

The win in the 2nd One Day International was Australia's 14th-consecutive ODI victory, who have taken an advantage in the series as they have taken a 2-0 lead.

The Kangaroos, who secured a really easy win in the first One Day International by a margin of seven-wickets on Thursday struggled to get past the 200-runs mark at the Headingley Cricket Stadium of Leeds after being asked to bat first, with skipper Mitchell Marsh (60 runs in 59 deliveries) being the only top-order batsman to score a fifty.

Travis Head, who secured his One Day career?s best score of 154* runs in the first match of the series, made 29 runs before falling prey to Brydon Carse (3-75).

Steve Smith got dismissed for four runs, Labuschagne (19 runs in 28 deliveries) and Glenn Maxwell (7 runs in 5 deliveries) as the Aussies struggled to perform well against the bowling brilliance of the hosts.

However, much to the dismay of the English fans, wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey turned things into the favour of the 2023 ODI World Cup winners as he hit some really good looking three maximums and eight fours, which allowed Australia to post a really good total of 270 runs on the board in 44.4 overs.

The score of 270 runs proved to be too-much for the new-look batting order of the Three Lions as they badly missed the services of England?s regular white-ball captain Jos Buttler, ruled out of the series due to an injury and they were up against an experienced Aussie bowling attack, consisting of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

Left arm seamer Mitchell Starc got rid of Will Jacks (0 runs in 1 ball) and England?s stand-in skipper Harry Brook (4 runs in 9 balls) while Hazlewood from the other end sent opening batter Phil Salt (12 runs in 14 deliveries) back to the pavilion.

Liam Livingstone?s golden duck meant that the 2019 ODI World Cup winners were struggling at 65-5 in 9.3 overs.

Besides the duo of Ben Duckett (32 runs in 25 deliveries) and Jamie Smith (49 runs in 61 balls), no other English batter was able to show any kind of retaliation.

The trio of Adil Rashid (27 runs in 34 balls), Jacob Bethell (25 runs in 35 balls) and Brydon Carse (26 runs 46 balls) failed to capitalise on their starts.

The Three Lions got all-out for 202 runs in 40.2 overs as Starc accounted for the wicket of number 11 batter Olly Stone, who got caught in the slips by Steve Smith.

The Mighty Aussies, who won the 2023 ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad versus India, now have the opportunity of sealing the five-match series by winning in the Third One Day International at the Seat Unique Riverside Stadium of Durham on Tuesday of next week.

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