England vs Australia, 2020, 2nd T20I: Preview, Live Streaming, Timings, Predicted XI, Stats, Pitch Report & more

England required a miracle when Australia needed only 39 off 36 with 9 wickets in hands to win the series opener at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton on Friday. After a stellar show at the top by David Warner and Aaron Finch- who added 98 for the first wicket in 11 overs, the game was indeed Australia’s to lose. And they must be kicking themselves for the way they wrapped it up in a glitzy paper and gifted it to the hosts.

No one could have expected to be at the edge of their seats towards the end when Australia’s score read 124/1 in pursuit of 163. However, Adil Rashid came to disrupt the bash the tourists were having for quite some time. Two wickets, of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, in the 15th over, was exactly the kind of effort that was required to make a turn around after a sloppy start with the ball.

England were undisciplined at the start and gave away too much to Warner and Finch to pounce on. To give easy opportunities to two batsmen of their class could never have helped the home team. The opening show put up by the two batsmen deserves more accolades than usual for it came when a bad outing for them could have easily been excused and termed as being rusty. After all, Australia had not played a game since March while England just came after a series against Pakistan.

But if Australia had David, England had Dawid to show: Malan batted brilliantly for his 66 alongside Jos Buttler, who added 44. With these two scoring the majority part, the others did not have much to show. However, Eoin Morgan’s tactics ensured that Australia could not cross the line despite cruising for the 14 overs out of the 20. The tourists lost wickets in heaps- four in a space of 14 deliveries.

The Australian collapse finally led them to require 9 from 4 deliveries. An accurate yorker followed by another lower full toss from Tom Curran in the last over proved too difficult for a slightly off-beat Marcus Stoinis to middle. Australia would have surely fancied their chance after restricting England to a modest target. That is the only thing they would want to repeat on Sunday at Southampton.

Pitch and conditions

The second game will be played on the same track as the first and the pitch is expected to be slightly drier with this being a day match. The track, contrary to the expectations, was not a belter as was visible by the struggle of the batsmen of both teams in the middle-overs once the ball was old. The fact that both spinners and pacers had an equal share of wickets to show is an indication that there are offerings for both.

Playing combination

Australia

Though a change only after one game looks improbable, Australia still has plenty of players to choose from as they have a 21-man squad with them in England. Warner and Finch at the top are no-brainers. Steve Smith raced off to 18 from 11 en route to which he slammed a couple of boundaries and a six, but he lost his wicket just when it started to look that he will take Australia home. Glenn Maxwell, who got two wickets with the ball, went for the glory shot with the bat immediately after Smith’s dismissal and pushed his team into more trouble.

Marcus Stoinis was weirdly slow at the start and kept waiting until the situation eventually got the better off him. Had Alex Carey shown some responsibility, Australia might have gone into this match with a lead. The Aussies might want to give a chance to Matthew Wade at his spot whereas, after a forgettable outing, Adam Zampa could be seated to accommodate Nathan Lyon. Kane Richardson was the pick with 2 for 13 in 3 overs, although quite surprisingly, the destructive duo of Starc and Cummins could not fire.

Predicted XI- David Warner, Aaron Finch (C), Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade/Alex Carey (WK), Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon/Adam Zampa

England

England picked both Tom Banton and Dawid Malan in the last game, at a time when Jos Buttler’s place in the eleven seemed to have complicated the selection in the top-three slot. While the headache of English management looks solved, the problem for Banton- who has clearly voiced his dislike batting at any other position apart from the top- seems to have increased. Apart from that, the combination Buttler and Bairstow seem to be working just fine and that looks to be the way forward.

Though a change in the eleven, after the kind of a show England put last time, looks improbable, they might try replacing one Curran with another: Sam in for Tom. Adil Rashid deserves a special mention for what he did in the 15th over that broke Australia’s back after a flying start. Additionally, it was his doing that Tom Curran and Chris Jordan banked upon at the death to finish off things for England. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood bowled at some furious pace and there is not a reason why that combination should change.

Predicted XI- Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (WK), Dawid Malan, Tom Banton, Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran/Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood

Stat Attack

Aaron Finch became the second Australian (first being David Warner) to reach the 2000-run landmark in T20Is.

Five more wickets for Chris Jordan (61) will take him past Stuart Broad (65) – the leading wicket-taker for England in T20Is.

David Warner and Aaron Finch became the ninth pair to add 1000 runs together in T20Is.

Head to Head

Matches Played- 18 | England Won- 10 | Australia Won- 6 | NR/Abandoned- 2

Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 6:45 PM (IST), 2:15 PM (local).

TV– Sony Six, Sony Six HD

Live Streaming– The match can be streamed online on Sony Liv and Airtel stream