Head, short star as Australia open to victory in England

Head, short star as Australia open to victory in England

Date & Time: Sep 11, 06:30 PM
	England	( 151 (19.2)
	Australia	( 179 (19.3)
Men of the Match	Travis Head
Australia won by 28 runs

Led by Travis Head's fiery 23-ball 59, Australia beat England by 28 runs in the first T20I at the Rose Bowl. It was a day where the bowlers had enough wickets to take back, with 20 all out in two innings, but Sean Abbott stood out with 3 for 28.

Australia

Head-short 'power' plays

Powerplay: 86/1 in 6 overs

After putting Australia in to bat, the most productive time for the batsmen comes in the powerplay. After a fairly cautious start, with 11 runs off the first nine deliveries, Mathew short cut loose, hitting Rhys Topley for a straight six. The most productive over in that period was the fifth when Head, who had started fairly slowly with three runs from six balls, followed Sam Curran and hit three sixes and as many fours in the 30-run over as Australia crossed. 86 in Powerplay. That said, the southpaw eventually fell off the last delivery of the episode.

Caught in turn

Middle overs: 69/4 in 9 overs

The English bowlers ensured that Australia could not return to their attacking style as soon as Head's departure. Short, who also made a strong start, departed soon after the field restrictions were lifted, becoming the first of Liam Livingstone's three victims in the period. The all-rounder gained momentum by dismissing Marcus Stoinis and Tim Davids in consecutive deliveries in the 13th over.

England vs Australia, 3rd T20I

The struggle of the English

Death overs: 24/5 in 4.3 overs

Their attempts to get out of trouble didn't prove too successful as Jofra Archer, Curran and Shakib Mahmood all chipped away with wickets in the death overs, with none of Australia's lower order able to make a significant contribution. The visitors folded with three balls left in the innings.

England vs Australia, 2nd T20I

England

Same intention but different results

Powerplay: 46/3 in 6 overs

England tried to be aggressive like Australia, but did not get the desired result. Barring four boundaries off Josh Hazlewood from Jordan Cox and Phil Salt in the fourth over, it was largely a stage where the Australian bowlers could impose themselves. After dismissing Will Jacks in the second over, they almost got the wicket of Cox too, but Barlett missed the comeback. However, his stay did not last long, as he was dismissed on the powerplay with Salt.

Livingstone brought England back again

Middle overs: 80/4 in 9 overs

As with their bowling performance, England also put in an improved performance with the bat in the middle overs. Once again, this was largely due to the efforts of Livingstone, who scored 37 off 27 balls. Along with Sam Curran, he offered a brief hope of reviving a chase that never really took off. Despite scoring at around 9-an-over in the middle overs, four more wickets reduced their chances further.

Australia clears the tail

Death overs: 25/3 in 4.2 overs

Not much resistance was offered from the English lower order. With the required rates rising and barely any wickets to play for, the lower order tried to work their way out of trouble but with only limited success as Australia ensured there were no late twists.