Australia beat England in 3rd T20I, become number one side
Australia beat England by five wickets in the final T20I at Southampton. Despite losing the series 1-2, Australia have dethroned England to become the number one T20I side. Notably, both sides made some changes for the dead rubber. While Moeen Ali led England in place of Eoin Morgan, Australia roped in Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood. Here are the records broken.
How did the match pan out?
England were off to a sluggish start as Australia put them into bat. Although Tom Banton departed early on, Jonny Bairstow kept the scoreboard ticking alongside Dawid Malan (21). Eventually, Joe Denly's unbeaten 29 propelled England to 145/6. In reply, Australia faltered in the middle, even though they started well. However, they chased it down in the final over.
First T20I victory for Australia in England since 2013
Interestingly, Australia have registered their first T20I victory on the England soil since 2013. This is also their second overall T20I win in England. Meanwhile, England have won their maiden bilateral T20I series (comprising three matches) against Australia. As far as the head-to-head record is concerned, Australia extended their lead to 10, while the hosts have secured eight wins so far.
Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow script these records
Moeen Ali joined an elite club as he became the first cricketer of Asian origin to captain England in any format since former cricketer Nasser Hussain. He is also the first-ever player with Asian heritage to lead England in a T20I. Meanwhile, opener Jonny Bairstow raced to his fifth half-century in the format. His innings was studded with three fours and as many sixes.
Malan's prolific average against fast bowlers
Top-order batsman Dawid Malan seems to be unstoppable at the moment in T20Is, a format where he averages over 48. After having scored 21 in the third T20I, Malan's average versus seam bowlers rose to an incredible 183.5. Paradoxically, he averages 31.5 against spinners.
Rashid yet again disarrays Australia
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid emerged as England's trump card and rose to occasion right throughout the series. In the third T20I, he dismissed Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith in mere 11 balls to shift the momentum. The 32-year-old was the pick of England bowlers, having finished with bowling figures of 21/3. Notably, he stood out as the leading wicket-taker of the series (6).
