Following the 2-1 victory over the tourists in T20Is, hosts England (ENG) locked horns with Australia (AUS) in the 1st match of three-match ODIs at Emirates Old Trafford, in Manchester.
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, England certainly had the advantage in the first ODI. They had a solid top and middle-order capable of chasing majestic totals.
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Australia made some bold moves as they dropped Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, and Josh Philippe from the playing XI, in what later turned out to be a fruitful decision.
Openers David Warner (6) and skipper Aaron Finch (16) were sent back to the pavilion by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood respectively. Stoinis, who was sent up the order at No 3, clocked 43 runs at a strike rate of 126.47, before being trapped by a Mark Wood’s delivery.
Marnus Labuschagne (21) showed signs of stitching a partnership before being plumbed by Adil Rashid.
The duo of Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell contributed then came up with an exorbitant performance as they added 126 runs for the sixth wicket. While Marsh was gritty in his approach and managed to add 73 runs to the team’s total, Maxwell, on the other hand, started to take on the ante and clobbered 59-ball 77 with 4 fours and as many sixes before Jofra Archer bowled him up and cut the scoring rate.
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From the English side, pacers Mark Wood and Jofra Archer grabbed three wickets each while Woakes grabbed a solitary. Though Moeen Ali was wicketless, his partner, Adil Rashid, scalped a couple of wickets to his name.
In the second innings, things started to fall apart from England’s hand as they lost opener Jason Roy (3) and Joe Root (1) in the early stages.
While Jonny Bairstow managed to establish his ground, the fall of wickets at the other end further weakened their chances to succeed. Skipper Eoin Morgan (23) looked in good touch with a couple of fours and a six, but, he got dismissed to a Zampa’s delivery. Jos Buttler (1), who had a great run in the concluded T20Is versus Australia, too departed after registering a paltry total.
The onus of scoring the chunk of runs and steering their side to the victory was on the duo of Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings, who added 113 runs for the fifth wicket.
Although the asking rate was scaling, still, the duo’s gritty exhibitions kept the Englishmen in the chase until Finch decided to bring back Adam Zampa’s who got the better of a well-set Bairstow (84).
Sam Billings (118) took the game to the final delivery and emerged as England’s top-scorer with the bat.
From the Aussie tent, pacer Josh Hazlewood (36/3) had a memorable day at work as he grabbed one of his most economical figures in ODIs and was rightly awarded the Man of the Match. Adam Zampa plucked the crucial dismissals of Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, and Chris Woakes, and ended the day with impressive numbers of 10-0-55-4.
The second ODI will take place on September 13 at Old Trafford, Manchester.
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 locked horns with Australia (AUS) in the 1st ODI of three-match series at Emirates Old Trafford, in Manchester. ){kind=link}