England vs Australia 1st T20IEngland vs Australia (ENG vs AUS) 1st T20 Highlights: England, batting first in the first match of the T20I series vs Australia on Friday, put up 162/7 in their 20 overs. They got off to a good start courtesy Jos Buttler (44), but were pegged back by the visiting team’s spinners. Dawid Malan (66) was the lone fighter for England in the middle order, as wickets kept falling around him. Glenn Maxwell (2/14) and Ashton Agar (2/32) got some early breakthroughs for the Aussies, before Kane Richardson (2/13) bowled a superb spell at the death to restrict the home team. (FOLLOW 2nd T20I LIVE)
Australia, in reply got off to a cracking start courtesy openers David Warner (58) and Aaron Finch (46). They fell from 124/1 to 133/5 as some quick wickets threw the chase wide open in the last quarter of the innings. Marcus Stoinis, on strike for the last over, with Australia needing 15 to win, managed to get 13. England won by 2 runs.
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What a finish! England have won! By 2 runs. Australia, who were crusing half an hour ago, have somehow contrived to lose this match. By 2 runs. Just 2 runs. What a clash this match was!
Stoinis swings and misses at the third delivery too. Two runs run through by the batsmen off the next ball. 7 required off 2 balls. Another couple of runs off the fifth ball. AUS need 5 off the last ball to win. 4 to take us to a Super Over.
Curran bowls the last over. Stoinis swings and misses the first ball. Connects with the second! Six! Over long off. 9 required off 4 balls.
Jordan bowls the 19th. He digs it in short and bowls on a middle stump line. No width offered. The last boundary was hit in the 14th over! Both batsmen still look to get runs off singles. They're setting this up for a last over hit-out. Stoinis misses the cut off the fifth ball. Absolute carnage off the last ball. Jordan goes up in lbw appeal against Stoinis. Aborts the appeal midway to throw at the stumps. Run Out! Stoinis to be on strike for the last over. But he will have a new partner for the last over. AUS 148/6 after 19, need 15 in the last over
Tom Curran to bowl the 18th. Which means Morgan will have him and Jordan to finish this innings off. Stoinis and Agar to face for Australia. Lots of fielders inside the circle for England now, with the chase suddenly having become an extremely tight one. Both batsmen look to get runs in singles. Just getting bat on ball and running for their lives. AUS 144/5 after 18, need 19 off 12 balls
Wood brought back for some extra pace to confront the two new batsmen in the 17th. And he gets another wicket! Carey is out! He is bowled for 1. The leg stump lies uprooted. England are pulling off a miraculous recovery! Australia lose their 5th. Australia have fallen from 124/1 to 133/5. What a collapse! AUS 133/5 after 16.3, need 30 off 21
Jofra Archer bowls Warner out for 58! Three quick wickets! Australia have lost 3 wicket for 5 runs in 7 balls. England have found their way back! Two new batsmen - Carey and Stoinis - in the middle with the last part of a chase on a two-paced pitch remaining to be played. They were crusing 2 overs ago. AUS 133/4 after 16, need 30 in 24 balls.
Smith falls for 18. He goes for another lofted shot against Adil Rashid but Bairstow takes a running catch in the deep. England get a second wicket. Glenn Maxwell joins Warner. And he falls too. Rashid takes 2 wickets in an over! Maxwell is gone for 1. Stoinis joins Warner, with two quick wickets having fallen. AUS need 36 in 5 overs
Warner gets to his 50 and raises his fist in a gesture to the dressing room. Finch had started off being the more aggressive batsman of the opening pair, but Warner has hit his stride as the innings has worn on. Morgan brings back Rashid, who was put to the sword by FInch in his last over. Smith and Warner content to nudge for ones in his over. Moeen Ali brought on for the first time in the 14th over. Smith steps out to him and clobbers him for a six over long on. Banton cuts a lonely figure trying to locate the ball in the empty stands. Jordan goes up to help him. This ball hunt might be just as interesting as the cricket contest on display. AUS 124/1 after 14
First wicket of the innings. Finch falls for 46. He goes for another lofted shot but is caught by Jordan at mid off. Jofra Archer takes the wicket. Big celebrations from Jordan - something has gone England's way for the first time in a long while. Steve Smith joins Warner at 3. And gets off to a cracking start himself. Two pulls for fours to start him off on his innings, even as Wood breaches the 150 kph mark. AUS 111/1 after 12
Adil Rashid goes for 17 runs in his 2nd over. Nothing working for England today! Finch lays into Rashid in the 9th over. A pull for a six and two hefty drives for four in the over from the Aussie captain. Wood brought back to bowl the 10th over with the match going out of England's grasp very quickly. Wood ramps up the pace - bowling at 149 kph - winding Warner up with a delivery that crashes into his midriff. Just 2 runs and a wide in the 10th over. AUS 91/0 after 10, need 72 to win in the last 10.
Morgan goes to Rashid to bring some sanity in proceedings. And the move works. Rashid draws a stumping appeal off Finch, England go for a Review, but the batsman had his foot in. Just 5 runs off the over. Tom Curran bowls the 8th. Warner and Finch find the gaps in the field against him, with the field pushed back now. AUS 70/0 after 8
Tom Curran bowls the 5th over. Bowls a variety of balls, Finch fails to read his slower ball and finds the fielders with every other shot. Just 4 runs from the over. An economical over against the run of play. Jordan continues in the 6th over. Finch welcomes him by pulling him for four off the first ball of the over. England have all their fielders as far out as possible. 10 runs still come off the over. Australia finish the Powerplay with 55/0, they need 108 off 84 balls to win.
England are bleeding runs in the Powerplay. Sharp running between the wickets by Warner and Finch also adding to their woes. Warner pulls Archer for four, this time for a convincing boundary. Finch finds the fence off a short ball later in the over. Australia get to 31/0 after 3. Morgan goes to Chris Jordan to stem the run flow. Warner flays him over point for the first boundary of the over. Finch ends the over with the second. England's pace bowlers have failed to have an impact. AUS 41/0 after 4
Mark Wood bowls the 2nd over. Warner gets a lucky boundary, the ball running to the fine leg fence. Warner gets more lucky runs. Just gets the ball over mid on to get 2. Ends the over with another streaky four that runs down to fine leg for four. AUS 20/0 after 2 What a start Dawid Malan has had to his T20I career for England.
Jofra Archer starts bowling for England. David Warner faces. Finch at the other end. 163 to win. Warner gets off the mark with a single. Finch gets two boundaries to finish the over. Australia are off!
A superb spell at the death from Kane Richardson. He finishes with figures of 2/13 in 3 overs. Change of pace and yorkers, all on show from him as Rashid and Jordan keep swinging and keep missing. Cummins bowls the 20th over as England manage to get the score to creep just above 150. Some frantic running between the wickets in the last over. Jordan connects with the last ball. Four to finish! England put up 162/7 in their 20 overs. 163 to win for Australia.
Huge over! 22 runs come off the 18th over. Zampa, the leg spinner, fails to nail it in this death over. And Malan lays into him. Two sixes to end the over. But just as England looked to be getting on track courtesy Malan, he is OUT. He goes for 66. Steve Smith plucks another great catch. Adil Rashid has joined Jordan with the England innings in a bit of a disorder at the death. ENG 148/7 after 18.2
Kane Richardson bowls the 17th over. England, under pressure as the runs have dried up, are looking to do something out of the ordinary to get runs. Tom Curran tries to play a scoop. Misses. And then he is caught in the deep. Curran is out for 6. Malan gets to his 50 with a single off the last ball. Chris Jordan has joined him at 8.
Tom Curran joins Malan at 7. Malan, the lone batsman left standing, gets a boundary in the 15th over, cutting delicately through the gap. Maxwell continues in the 16th over. 5 runs from the over. Maxwell's golden arm accounting for 2/14 in his three overs so far. ENG 122/5 after 16
Malan slog sweeps Zampa for a six as the 13th over starts. Ends the over with another boundary to square leg. Malan, now on 38, is playing the leading role in this essay for England now. 14 runs come off the 13th over. A welcome big over for England. Maxwell continues to bowl in the 14th. And he gets another wicket! Moeen Ali the one to fall to pressure this time as he gets a top edge that is caught by Zampa. Maxwell's 2nd wicket now. England 109/5 after 14
Glenn Maxwell is into the attack. And he strikes in his first over! Eoin Morgan is out for 5. England continue losing their way after a great start. The spinners continue doing the trick for the Australians, helped by some super work on the field. A great running catch at long on by Steve Smith this time. Moeen Ali has joined Malan, with England in a spot of bother. ENG 92/4 after 12
Morgan is out at 5 to join Malan as England look to regain their advantage. Just 20 runs have come in the last 4 overs, with Zampa and Agar tightening the noose on England's scoring rate. Starc is back to bowl the 11th as Finch goes to pace again. And it's an expensive over. Malan and Morgan both get one four each in the over. Morgan gets lucky once as a top edge lands in no man's land. ENG 86/3 after 11
What a start from Tom Banton! Second ball of his innings, he plays a strong reverse sweep that goes for four. Scintillating stuff, with Kevin Pietersen in the comm box looking on. 'Has to be premeditated', exclaims KP. Australia's spinners continue bowling tight lines. And there's the third wicket! Again it's Agar who strikes. Banton is out for 8. Finch taking the catch to end this innings. ENG 74/3 after 9.5
The big wicket! It's Agar who has the last laugh. Australia's spinners get them off to a dream start to the non-Powerplay overs. Agar builds up pressure by giving away just 2 runs in the over before Buttler swings in desperation but finds Cummins in the deep. Not the connection he was looking for. Tom Banton comes in at 4. ENG 65/2 after 8
Adam Zampa, leg spinner, to bowl the 7th, as Finch finds it safe to bowl his spinners again. Agar went for 16 in the only over of spin so far. Does well to counter Buttler, sees him coming down the track and drops his length. Malan gets the one boundary in the over, driven through the covers. England get to 62/1 after 7. Agar brought back to bowl the 8th.
Kane Richardson the new bowler for Australia. David Malan the new man in for England. Gets off the mark with a four pulled off his hips. Malan, often guilty of getting off to slow starts, plays out a few dot balls to end the 5th over. Cummins bowls the last Powerplay over. Buttler keeps charging. Picks on the slower ball from Cummins and powers a drive for another four. Buttler on 41 off 23 balls at the end of the Powerplay. ENG 55/1 after 6
That's the first wicket. Pat Cummins strikes in his first over. With his last ball of the over. Bairstow, who survived a run out chance earlier in the over, is gone this time. He goes for 8 off 7 balls. Starc catches at short third man. Genius captaincy from Finch, says Nasser, as the Bairstow shot finds Starc - who is standing in an unusual position. ENG 43/1 after 4
Buttler times a couple of shots to perfection against Starc. 10 runs for him in the over. Bairstow, unusually for him, is playing the role of foil to Buttler as he gets cracking from the outset. England power on to 35/0 after 3 overs. Pat Cummins to bowl the 4th over. And Buttler continues his superb innings. Times another shot to perfection to get another four through the covers. The quickness of the outfield also helping him. Buttler on 34 off 17. ENG 41/0 after 3.4
Ashton Agar, left arm spinner, to bowl the 2nd over, as Australia also put in a spinner to bowl in the Powerplay. It doesn't pay off though. White ball Buttler roars to form! Walks out of his crease and lofts a six down the ground. A pull for four - one drop and over the ropes - later in the over. And the over ends with another six. Buttler has plundered 16 runs off the 2nd over! ENG 24/0 after 2
Starc begins with a wide. A wayward start. Nasser Hussain says the problem for Australia will be their lack of match practice. It's been six months since they played as a team. England, on the other hand, have been playing regularly over the past couple of months. Bairstow gets the first boundary of the day. Driven through the covers. ENG 8/0 after 1
England and Australia, stepping out to the field in coloured jerseys for the first time since the World Cup semifinal last year, are all set for this titanic clash. Bairstow and Buttler to open the innings for the home side. Mitchell Starc to bowl the first over.
England: Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler(w), Dawid Malan, Tom Banton, Eoin Morgan(c), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid
Australia: Aaron Finch(c), David Warner, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(w), Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
Australia have won the toss and have opted to field. England to bat first.
Hello and welcome to the first match of what promises to be a lip-smacking contest. England and Australia, both teams looking almost full-strength, though there is still no Ben Stokes, begin their limited-overs series today. Toss and team news at 10 pm IST.