Table of Contents
England managed to stage a historic comeback in the second ODI against Australia to level the series at Old Trafford, on Sunday (September 13).
Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to bat first on a testing surface which in itself is a rarity in England.
The home team didn’t have a great start as they lost both of their openers inside the powerplay. Jonny Bairstow walked back to pavilion in the fifth over for a seven ball duck while Jason Roy’s innings was cut short by a miraculous throw from Marcus Stoinis in the seventh over of the match.
Joe Root and Morgan did the rebuilding job in the middle before Adam Zampa deceived the former with a flighted delivery to reduce England to 90/3.
At one stage, England’s scorecard flashed at 149/8 in the 41st over. But, Adil Rashid and Tom Curran stitched an all-important partnership to propel their side to a respectable total of 231/9.
Archer’s pace was too hot to handle for the tourists.
Chasing 232, Australia lost David Warner early in the innings as he fell prey to Jofra Archer for the second successive time in the series.
Archer struck again in the eighth over with a menacing delivery which Stoinis couldn’t handle. Stoinis shuffled at the crease in desperation and somehow brought his bat in between a ball that seemed to rise up to his throat. A thick edge from the batsman saw the leather flying off in the air before Buttler grasped it comfortably.
Here’s the delivery:
Unplayable 👀
Live clips: https://t.co/GcX9J1cxDm#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/xUNMcI2LIK
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 13, 2020
Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne then combined 107 runs for the third wicket partnership before Chris Woakes handed double whammy to the visitors. Woakes got the better of both Finch and Labuschagne to turn the match in their favour.
Australia never recovered from the shock as they were bundled out for 207, courtesy disciplined bowling from the English pacers.
