England have made a superb comeback after winning the second ODI by 24 runs to level the series 1-1 on Sunday. Once again, Australia’s middle order woes were on display as the Aussies made a mockery of what looked like an easy run chase.
Australian bowlers bowled put together a discipline show to restrict England to 231 in 50 overs. Morgan and Root stitched a crucial 61-run partnership for the third wicket. However, once Root departed, wickets fell at regular intervals. Much to the delight of hosts, Tom Curran and Adil Rashid took England from 149 to 225, giving themselves a decent total to defend.
Australian bowlers, once again, portrayed a disciplined bowling show. Adam Zampa proved out to be the star bowler for the side as he claimed 3 for 36 in his 10 overs.
In pursuit of 232, Australia couldn’t start on a great note as Warner departed for 6 in the 4th over of the second innings. Marcus Stoinis followed him soon with Archer claiming his second wicket.
Skipper Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne then steadied the ship and stitched a 107-run partnership for the third wicket. With less than 100 runs needed in 20 overs, Australia looked on course to chase down the total quite easily.
However, yet again, the middle order crumbled and fell like a pack of cards. Mitchell Marsh and Maxwell for 1-run apiece, followed by a modest-run from the tailenders. Alex Carey was fighting the lone battle but Aussies fell 24 runs short in the end.
Jofra Archer was awarded the Man of the Match for his superb spell of 3 for 34 in 10 overs.
The third and final ODI will be played on Wednesday at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. For the uninitiated, England has not lost a single bilateral series at home since 2015.
