Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten 71* off of 32 balls which included 5 boundaries and 5 maximums
30 October, 2021
PHOTO COURTESY: ICC
England stood on the brink of the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup after Jos Buttler's batting pyrotechnics secured their comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Australia in a Group I match on Saturday.
Eoin Morgan hailed Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes as "world's best" as Australia stumbled over for 125 against arguably the tournament's favorite team England.
England won the toss and put Australia to bat, which proved to be a terrific decision as Australia lost four quick wickets.
Chris Woakes took the charge and provided the first breakthrough by removing dangerous David Warner (1). He then showed athleticism in the field to get rid of Steven Smith (1). Coming back into the attack, Woakes removed Glenn Maxwell as well for 6.
Australia fell to a precarious 51-5 after leg spinner Adil Rashid trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw for naught and Liam Livingstone claimed the wicket of Matthew Wade, for 18.
Finch counter-attacked as he took on Tymal Mills and Jordan for a few boundaries. He put on 47 runs with Ashton Agar, who made a run-a-ball 20, to give some respect to the total.
The left-handed Agar hit two straight sixes off Woakes' fourth over but fell to Mills while attempting another big hit.
Chris Jordan took three wickets whereas Chris Woakes and Tymal Mills both took two wickets each. Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone also popped up with a wicket each.
In return, England showcased their strengths in batting with Jos Buttler and Jason Roy scoring 66 runs in the Powerplay. Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten 71* off of 32 balls which included 5 boundaries and 5 maximums.
The only two breakthroughs were provided by Aussie spinners as Zampa dismissed Jason Roy whereas Agar dismissed Dawid Malan.
In the end, England reached the target in the 12th over and registered a comprehensive victory against their arch-rivals.
