Trans Tasman Tri-Series, AUS vs ENG, 3rd T20I Review: Australia storm into the finals with third successive victory

It was a complete team effort from the hosts and are looking good to win the tournament.

Published - 10 Feb 2018, 17:22 IST | Updated - 10 Feb 2018, 17:22 IST

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Australia have defeated England for the consecutive second time by seven wickets in the ongoing T20I tri-series down under on Saturday. This was the third successive victory for the hosts in as many matches and have stormed into the finals of the tournament now. It was a complete team effort at the slow MCG wicket from them and everything went according to the plan. However, the focus now shifts to New Zealand as the second half of the T20 leg will be played in the Kiwi nation.

David Warner’s poor run continued as he was yet again dismissed by David Willey for just 2 runs as he edged his fourth delivery to the wicket-keeper. But then the duo of Chris Lynn and D’Arcy Short took the attack to the visitors and brought the required rate considerably down. The former was at his brutal best as he tore apart the bowlers scoring 31 runs off 19 deliveries with four boundaries and two maximums. He was sent packing by Chris Jordan in the final over of the powerplay.

However, that brought the in-form Glenn Maxwell in the middle who continued the good work done by Lynn. Short, on the other hand, was biding his time in the middle and played some delightful strokes as well. Maxi took a special liking to the spinners Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid smashing 39 off 26 cherries with 3 fours and a couple of huge sixes. He was dismissed with the run-chase well under control as the remaining runs were gunned by the returning Aaron Finch scoring 20 off just 5 balls.

It was a stroll for the hosts as they chased down the target in the 15th over and ended the agony for the visitors. Short remained unbeaten on 36 off 33 balls and held one end gamely.

What happened earlier?

Earlier in the day, the toss once again went in favour of Warner who opted to bowl first. It was the perfect start for the Aussies as England were reduced to 34/3 in just four overs. Their batsmen completely struggled to come to the terms with the slow MCG pitch and somehow crawled to 137 runs for the loss of 7 wickets n their 20 overs. Though the skipper Jos Buttler stayed until the end, he could only score 46 off 49 balls. The likes of Sam Billings and James Vince also tried to play a supporting hand but they never looked comfortable.

All the bowlers enjoyed their time as they stifled the run-scoring of the opposition. While Kane Richardson ended with the figures of 3/33, Billy Stanlake picked a couple of wickets. Andrew Tye was the other wicket-taker as Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis were also economical. England missed their regular skipper Eoin Morgan who got injured ahead of the game.

Richardson was adjudged Man of the Match for his exceptional spell of bowling. Though it was a complete team effort from Australia and are looking seriously good outfit to win the tournament. The next match of the series will be played in Wellington now between England and New Zealand which will also be the must-win encounter for the poms.