CT 2017, Match 10 Review: Ben Stokes' century sends Australia packing

The Birmingham crowd witnessed an enthralling run chase. This time, it came from the hosts as Australia who were at the receiving end of it, crashed out of the tournament after losing just one game. Bangladesh went on to enter their first ever semi-final in an ICC event.

The Poms managed to knock out their arch rivals Australia out of the Champions Trophy that too in an emphatic fashion. The duo of Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan recovered the hosts from an indigent position with some magnificent striking all around. The Aussies had no answer to their counter attack.

Earlier in the day, it was captain Eoin Morgan who won the toss as England elected to field first. With Australia playing, there’s no doubt that it was a rain-interrupted game but this one finally managed to provide a result courtesy of the DLS method which no one ever tried to understand.

Getting back to the action in the field, David Warner got a start but failed to convert it into anything special. Skipper Steve Smith alongside Aaron Finch stitched a solid 96-run partnership for the second wicket. Both went on to register half centuries as Australia got a splendid start to their innings.

At 160/2 by the end of 27 overs, the Australians were sighting a total around 320. However, once Henriques got out, the Australian batsmen failed to build partnerships. While Travis Head batted spectacularly for his 71 (64)*, he kept running out of partners. Glenn Maxwell tried to hit a six but ended up getting out to what was the catch of the tournament so far by Jason Roy who finally got something right.

Adil Rashid struck gold in the end overs as he claimed four scalps as the Aussie batsmen failed to pick him. The Australians managed to put up a respectable total of 277/9 in their quota of fifty overs. Looking back at the start they got and the conditions, they were clearly 30-50 runs short of what could’ve been an ideal total.

The Australian pace attack stepped up in the must-win game for them. Both the openers were back to the pavilion in the space of 8 balls. Joe Root who has been in sublime form edged one to Matthew Wade as the Englishmen were reduced to 35/3. No one would’ve called for an England win from here on just like the last night when Bangladesh were diminished to 33/4.

What followed was another astounding partnership between skipper Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes. This was more of a power packed one with some sensational display of pinch hitting at Birmingham. Together, both put up an outstanding 159 runs partnership for the fourth wicket as England cruised towards a successful run chase.

While Morgan missed out on a well-deserved century, Stokes made way for his first ever century in the Champions Trophy. Jos Buttler too looked in fine touch to help England finish the game before rains made sure there wasn’t going to be any more action. England were 40 runs ahead of the D/L par score as they scripted a scintillating win.

With this, England ends Group A as table toppers having won all their games as they’re likely to face the second team from Group B. Bangladesh, on the other hand, would be preparing for their first-ever semi-final appearance. There has been some serious cricket played over the last few days making the race for the trophy even more competitive. No doubt that it’s going to boil down to the last moment in the upcoming virtual quarterfinals.

Brief Scores:

Australia: 277/9 in 50 overs (Travis Head 71, Aaron Finch 68; Mark Wood 4/33)

England: 240/4 in 40.2 overs (Ben Stokes 102, Eoin Morgan 87; Josh Hazlewood 2/50)