At the stunning Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, England and Australia squared off in a day-night match during the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. This is the oldest rivalry in cricket history. Thanks to strong all-around team efforts, the Pat Cummins-led team won handily in the end.
Travis Head and David Warner both departed cheaply for the Australian openers, who were batting first, so they did not have a nice start. Despite Australia’s efforts to steady the innings with late smashes from the tail-enders, they were bowled out for 286 without having played the full 50 overs allotted.
In the chase, England lost Jonny Bairstow as their first wicket on the opening delivery.
England was never really able to bounce back as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. The Three Lions eventually lost the match by 34 runs after being bowled out for 253 in 48.1 overs. The shock defeat meant that the reigning champions were eliminated from the competition.
Discussion Points
1. Marnus Labuschagne reaches a grizzled fifty years old.
Despite the team’s difficult start, Marnus Labuschagne led Australia with 71 runs off 83 balls before Mark Wood removed him. Alongside Cameron Green, who scored 47, he was instrumental in helping the Australians put up a respectable total. There were seven boundaries in his knock.
2. Ben Stokes’s knock is ineffective
Dawid Malan (50 off 64) and Ben Stokes (64 off 90) attempted to right the ship after losing early wickets. It took Stokes some time to settle in, but once he did, he extracted maximum mileage out of Australia’s bowling. The southpaw was trapped in Adam Zampa’s whirling web, making his knock ineffective in trying to lead the team through.
3. Adam Zampa’s overall performance –
Adam Zampa took the bowling assault to the next level, smashing 29 runs off just 19 balls, when the middle-order struggled to get going. This enabled Australia score a higher-than-expected total. He was once again outstanding with the bowling, taking three highly sought-after wickets from Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali. In addition, he made a spectacular catch to cap off a fantastic field effort, helping to deliver a 360-degree performance that won the game.
Who Said What?
Jos Buttler
.(Losing Skipper) – Disappointment, we were having the same chat after the match. Improvements today, more with the bat, but we were still well short, no complaints if you lose by 30 runs. A low point as a captain, you stand in this position, you came to India with high hopes and expectations, we haven’t done ourselves any justice, everyone knows how much hard work we’ve put, these losses weigh high on our shoulders.
We did well (with the ball), but we could have done better, we let them put up frustrating little partnerships. With the dew around, we backed ourselves, and we fell 30 runs short. It was the right shot to play (on his dismissals), the execution wasn’t great, I was trying to take it back to them. I haven’t played as well as I can, in such a pivotal position, I think I let myself and my team down. Only way to come back is to put in the hard yards at the nets and come back better in the next game.
Pat Cummins
[Winning Skipper] – It’s been great, the boys played brilliantly, we’re getting better with each match. We’ve improved with each game, still not playing the perfect game. It’s something we pride ourselves on, we didn’t start well, but the boys have put their hands up, ever since the first 2 games. He has been bowling beautifully in the last 3 games (on Zampa), made 29 and took a banger (of a catch).
We thought it was a good wicket and would probably break up to his strength. Maxi and Mitchy will be back, they have had a great tournament and for the others to come in and put in a performance was nice. It wasn’t too bad tonight (on the dew), sometimes we do see players getting wet as they slide on, but it wasn’t that bad today.
Adam Zampa
| Player of the Match: I mean just summing up the conditions was important. We batted really well to get to 286. The ground got really dewy. Attacking the stumps was important. It came out as good as it ever has. Felt really good. Just tried to be really positive and bat out the 50 overs. Was important to rotate the strike. One of those days. Felt satisfying. Hopefully my best is yet to come.
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