England continued their juggernaut in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 as they hammered arch-rivals Australia at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Eoin Morgan’s men defeated Australia by eight wickets and 50 balls to spare to take three victories in three matches.
Chris Woakes’ 2 for 23 and Chris Jordan’s 3 for 17 helped England restrict the Aussies to just 125 in 20 overs. In response, Jos Buttler smashed unbeaten 71 off 32 balls as they chased down the total in 11.4 overs.
As it happened, the flip of the coin went in England’s favour, and Eoin Morgan had no hesitation in bowling first. England went with different tactics from their last two games, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid bowling the first over. Woakes shared the new ball and struck on the second ball of his spell.
David Warner, who looked like finally getting back in form with a fifty in the last game, nicked a back of a length delivery to Buttler on 1. Steve Smith, whose job was to be a stabilizer, went for a pull on outside off delivery by Jordan only to find Woakes at mid-on with a terrific catch.
Glenn Maxwell was the next one to fall as he was trapped plumb in front of the stumps by Woakes for 6 off 9. Adil Rashid struck straightaway after the powerplay, trapping Marcus Stoinis with a googly for a four-ball duck. Australia were reduced to 21/4 in 6.1 overs.
Captain Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade tried to rebuild the innings, but their 31-run partnership ended in the 12th over. Wade danced down the track to Liam Livingstone’s off-break, but clever change in pace did the trick and he was caught at long-on for run-a-ball 18.
Ashton Agar joined hands with Finch and added 47 runs in six overs for the sixth wicket. Agar hit a couple of sixes to Woakes before he was caught at deep midwicket off a Tymal Mills’ delivery. Cummins smashed Mills for two consecutive sixes to give the team some hope.
Finch was caught at long-off on the first ball of the 19th over for a 44 off 49. Jordan cleaned up Cummins on the next delivery with a pitch-perfect yorker. Mitchell Starc contributed with 13 off 6 as Australia were bowled out on the last ball of the innings.
Chasing 126 with a possibility of movement on offer for the Aussie quicks, Buttler and Jason Roy started well. Buttler pulled Starc in the first over while Roy skipped down the track to Josh Hazlewood on the first ball of the second over to disturb his length. Roy clobbered Cummins for a six in the next over before Buttler hit one for himself against Agar. Buttler then took down Starc with 18 runs to end the powerplay on 66/0.
Adam Zampa provided Australia the breakthrough as Roy was trapped in front, trying to play a reverse sweep, on 22 off 20. Buttler continued to hammer the bowlers to all parts and brought up his fifty in 25 balls with a massive six off Zampa.
Dawid Malan was dismissed for run-a-ball 8, edging behind off Agar. Bairstow joined hands with Buttler and the duo hammered Zampa for three sixes in the 11th over. Jos Buttler displayed his full range against all types of bowlers in his 32-ball-71* and showed why he’s the best T20 opener in the world.
England have all but confirmed their place in the semi-finals with this win, while Australia have taken a major hit on their chances due to their net run-rate dropping to -0.627. Their competitors for the second spot – South Africa have a net run-rate of +0.210 with equal four points.
Brief Scores
Australia – 125 in 20 overs (Finch 44, Agar 20; Jordan 3/17, Woakes 2/23)
England – 126/2 in 11.4 overs (Buttler 71*, Roy 22; Agar 1/15)
