England vs Australia, 2020: 2nd T20I – Buttler’s rare double, Australia’s failed toss strategy and more stats

England sealed the 3-match T20I series against Australia with a game to spare as they sealed a 6-wicket win on Sunday. Australia were restricted to 157/7 after electing to bat first as no player scored more than their captain Aaron Finch (40). Jos Buttler didn’t begin in his usual attacking fashion as England reached only to 44/1 in the powerplay. He along with Dawid Malan (42 off 32) added 87 runs from 63 balls for the 2nd wicket to ease the required rate. Later, Buttler took the home team over the winning line with an unbeaten 77 off 54 balls.

Here are all the statistical highlights from England’s yet another win in Southampton:

Australia’s failed toss strategy:

8 – Sunday’s T20I was the 8th successive instance of a team losing a T20I after electing to bat first against England in England. There have been ten occasions of a visiting team electing to bat first in T20Is against the hosts England but have been successful only twice; both before July 2007.

5 – Australia now have lost each of their last five T20I matches in England. Their last win in the format on England soil came in Southampton only when Aaron Finch smashed 156 in 2013. Prior to that win, Australia played six T20Is in England and lost five of them while another game ended without a result.

Buttler’s rare double:

2 – Jos Buttler became only the 2nd wicketkeeper in T20I history to affect three or more dismissals and score 75+ runs in the same match. Buttler took three catches and scored an unbeaten 77 on Sunday. Mohammad Shahzad was the first keeper with this double as the Afghanistan player scored 80 runs in the 2017 Dubai T20I against Oman alongside picking up two catches and effected a stumping.

Bairstow’s hit wicket:

1 – Jonny Bairstow became the first England player to be dismissed via hit wicket in the T20I format. This is also the first hit wicket dismissal during a T20I hosted by England. A total of 14 hit-wicket dismissals have taken place in T20Is but five of them came against Australia only.

2 – Bairstow became only the 3rd England player to be dismissed hit-wicket twice in International cricket. He was dismissed in this manner during the 2018 Christchurch ODI against New Zealand where he scored a 60-ball 104. Denis Compton (5) and Frank Woolley (2) are the other England players with multiple International dismissals via hit-wicket.

T20 milestones for Australians:

9000 – Aaron Finch completed 9000 runs in the Twenty20 format with the 40 runs he scored in the 2nd T20I. He is now the 6th player and the 2nd Australian after David Warner to achieve this milestone.

6010 – Glenn Maxwell went past 6000-run mark in T20 cricket when he was on 15 during Sunday’s T20I. A total of 35 players including Maxwell have amassed 6000 T20 runs but his strike rate of 154.3 at the moment is the highest of all.

Australia’s rare poor start:

3 – Only the 3rd time Australia lost their first wicket without any runs on the board in Men’s T20I cricket. The other two such instances came during the 2012 Gros Islet T20I against West Indies and 2018 Abu Dhabi T20I against Pakistan.