2nd T20I
England has equalized with a masterclass performance from Liam Livingstone
Australia scored 193/6 in 20 overs, where as England scored 194/7 in 19 overs.
So, finally England beat Australia by 3 wickets.
An all-round performance from the experienced Liam Livingstone helped England level the T20I series against Australia with a three-wicket victory in Cardiff on Friday (September 13).
Australia set a strong target of 193/6, thanks to Jake Fraser-McGurk’s maiden fifty and Josh Inglis’s quick 42 off 26.
England were at 79/3 at one stage in their chase, but a crucial 90-run partnership off just 47 balls between Livingstone (87 off 47) and Jacob Bethell (44 off 24) guided them to victory with an over to spare.
The key difference came in the middle overs, where England’s spinners, led by Livingstone, took vital wickets and restricted the Australian batters to just 66 runs during that period.
In contrast, England scored 98 runs in the same phase, with Livingstone and Bethell maintaining the pressure between overs 7 and 15.
AUSTRALIA
Powerplay: A familiar start from Head
Phase score – 67/1 [RR: 11.16; 4s/6s: 10/3]
Travis Head, leading Australia for the first time in Mitchell Marsh’s absence due to illness, showcased his aggressive style to give Australia a solid start.
Matthew Short initiated the attack with a six and two fours off Reece Topley in a 15-run opening over.
Head then accelerated, hitting four fours and two sixes against Saqib Mahmood and Topley.
His innings ended when Brydon Carse, replacing Jofra Archer, had him caught at backward point for 31 off 14 balls.
Fraser-McGurk, batting at No.3, scored three consecutive fours off Sam Curran to end the powerplay strongly.
Middle overs: Spinners keep Australia in check
Phase score – 66/3 [RR: 7.33; 4s/6s: 3/2]
Adil Rashid and Carse delivered a series of tight overs.
Rashid, despite being hit for a six by Fraser-McGurk, struck back with the dismissal of Short.
Australia remained in a strong position at 96/2 at the innings’ midpoint.
Fraser-McGurk hit a six off Topley en route to a 29-ball half-century before mistiming a slogsweep off Livingstone.
The all-rounder also removed Marcus Stoinis, helping to slow down Australia’s scoring.
Death overs: Inglis, lower order power Australia past 190
Phase score – 60/3 [RR: 10.00; 4s/6s: 5/3]
Rashid, who had been economical, conceded 15 runs in his final over as Inglis hit a six and a four.
Carse was hit for two fours by Inglis but managed to dismiss Tim David, ending with figures of 2 for 26.
Australia, at 157/6, lost Inglis to Curran but scored 31 runs in the last two overs.
Cameron Green hit a six off Mahmood in the 19th over, and Aaron Hardie added two fours and a six off Curran, who gave away 20 in the final over.
ENGLAND
Powerplay: England positive despite Abbott’s strikes
Phase score – 65/2 [RR: 10.83; 4s/6s: 5/4]
Hardie and Cooper Connolly, replacing Josh Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett, started the attack for Australia but faced a challenging start, conceding 34 runs in the first three overs.
Hardie restricted runs in the opening over, while Connolly went for 11.
Phil Salt hit three successive sixes off Hardie in a 21-run third over.
Sean Abbott struck back for Australia with wickets of Will Jacks and Jordan Cox.
England ended the powerplay positively, with 13 runs from Stoinis’s fifth over, including a six from Livingstone, who later hit three fours off Abbott.
Middle overs: Livingstone, Bethell flay Australia
Phase score – 98/1 [RR: 10.88; 4s/6s: 7/6]
Salt contributed a useful 39 before being dismissed by Short in the ninth over.
England, at 90/3 at the halfway mark, saw Livingstone and Bethell accelerate.
Livingstone hit a couple of boundaries off Green, and Bethell struck a maximum off Connolly and an 18-run over from Stoinis.
Livingstone brought up a 27-ball fifty with two sixes and a boundary.
Bethell’s aggressive play included a six and three fours off Zampa and another six off Abbott, reducing the target to 31 off the last five overs.
Death overs: Short bags five but England prevail
Phase score – 31/4 [RR: 7.75; 4s/6s: 1/1]
England faced difficulties in the death overs, losing quick wickets.
Short’s five-wicket haul included Bethell and Curran.
With 21 needed from the last three overs, Abbott allowed nine runs in the 18th over.
Livingstone tied the scores with a six and a four off Short before being dismissed.
Carse also fell to Short, but a single from Rashid secured England’s win with an over to spare, setting up a decisive match in Manchester on Sunday.
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