ISLAMABAD: Australia beat England by 33 runs in the ongoing ICC World Cup match being played at Ahmedabad, India, on Saturday. By winning the match, Australia secured 10 points on the table to multiply their chances of booking a place in the semi-finals of the mega event.
Chasing a fighting total of 288, England lost their first wicket on the very first ball when Mitchel Starc dismissed Bairstow on a duck. The out-of-form English side lost their 2ne wicket in the 5th over on 19 runs when Stark struck again to get rid of Joe Root on 13.
After losing two quick wickets, Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes managed to stay on the crease and push the scoreboard ahead. They took the total beyond hundred and shared 84 runs partnership for the team. Both also completed their half-centuries. However, the partnership broke at the wrong time when Cummins dismissed Dawid Malan on 50, in a couple of overs. Later, England lost their fourth wicket when Zampa removed the skipper Buttler on one run. At the stage, England were 106 for 4 in 25.1 overs.
After Buttler, Moeen Ali joined Stokes, where both the batters added some crucial runs to the England’s total. But in the 36th over, Stokes departed on 64. His innings included 3 sixes and 2 fours. In the next over, the new batter, Livingstone, was also dismissed on 2 while England reached 174 runs and still far behind the total. On the other hand, Moeen Ali was adding runs to the scoreboard, who was then joined by Chris Woakes.
In the 40th over, England lost their set batter Moeen Ali on 42, when the total reached 186. After losing Moeen Ali, it became very difficult for England to chase the remaining target with an average of over 9 runs per over while having only 3 wickets in the tail. In the lower order, Dawid Willey and Chris Woakes added some rums to the total.
However, in the 44th over, Hazlewood dismissed Willey on 15. Willey was replaced by Adil Rashid who along with Woakes, pushed the total ahead. Chris Woakes knocked a good innings of 32 on 33 balls at the end. Adil Rashid accompanied him well and scored 20 runs. However, England didn’t manage to reach the total and were all out on 253 in 48.1 overs. Australia won the match by 33 runs, grabbing two more points in the table.
From Australia, Adam Zampa grabbed 3 wickets. Mitchel Starc, Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins got two wickets each, while Stoinis took 1 wicket.
Australia Batting
Earlier, after winning the toss, England invited Australia to bat first. England bowlers managed to get rid of the two in-form openers, David Warner and Travis Head, in the first six overs. Travis Head scored 11, and Warner went for 15, and both were dismissed by Chris Woakes. After the two dismissals, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne managed to stay on the crease and added 75 crucial runs to the total.
Meanwhile, Labuschagne also completed his half-century. However, in the 22nd over, when the score reached 113, Adil Rashid dismissed Smith on 44. A couple of overs later, England got the fourth wicket when Josh Inglis was removed by Adil Rashid on just 3 runs. In the 33 over, when the score reached 178, Mark Wood managed to get the set batter Labuschagne on 71.
Meanwhile, Cameron Green added some crucial runs to the total; however, on 47, he was bowled out by David Willey. At the stage, South Africa were 223 for 6 in the 41st over. After Green, Marcus Stoinis also played a quick 35 runs on 32 balls. However, on the follow-up overs, Mark Wood managed to get rid of Stoinis and Cummins to slow the run pace of the Aussies. At the stage, Australia were 247 for 8 in 44.2 overs.
Meanwhile, the number 9 and 10th batters, Mitchel Stark and Adam Zampa, managed to spend time on the crease and added valuable runs to the scoreboard. They contributed 38 runs partnership for the team before Zampa was dismissed by Chris Woakes in the 50th over. Australia managed to score 287 all out in 49.3.
From England, Chris Woakes was the most successful bowler, taking 4 wickets. Mark Wood and Adil Rashid grabbed two wickets each, while David Willey got one wicket.
England Team
Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood
Australia Team
Travis Head, David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
