After several twists and turns, England defeated Australia in the opening T20I by two runs in Southampton and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Aaron Finch and Co dominated the major part of the game, and their victory looked inevitable at one point. However, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan and Tom Curran put up an exhibition of high-class death bowling and turned the game in their side’s favour. Chasing 163 for victory, Aaron Finch and David Warner stitched up 98 runs for the first wicket and set a great stage for the players to come. However, Australia’s middle-order collapsed as they were restricted to 160/6. Below, we’ll look at the stat highlights of the game. England vs Australia Highlights 1st T20I 2020.

Earlier in the game, Australia won the toss and elected to field first. The decision seemed costly at first as Dawid Malan (66), and Jos Buttler (44) got England off to a flying start. The duo smashed Mitchell Starc and Co all over the park as the Three Lions were cruising towards a mammoth first-innings total. However, their middle-order batsmen couldn’t carry on the momentum as the Men in Yellow got a chance to make a comeback. Glenn Maxwell and Kane Richardson bowled brilliant spells as the home team was only able to post 162/7 despite a staggering start. The total eventually didn’t prove to be enough as the Aussies crossed the line with – wickets in hand. Meanwhile, let’s look at the stat highlights of the encounter. Aaron Finch Breaks COVID-19 Protocols, Caught Spitting.

#England beat Australia by two runs in 1st T20I match at Rose Bowl in Southampton

#With this, the Three Lions have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series

#Eoin Morgan becomes the third player to play 50 T20Is as captain; MS Dhoni (72) and William Porterfield (56) are the other two.

#Dawid Malan smashed his 7th T20I half-century.

#Aaron Finch becomes the second Australian after David Warner to complete 2000 T20Is runs.

#Finch (62 innings) is the second-fastest to reach the landmark after Virat Kohli (56 innings)

#David Warner registered his 19th half-century in T20 Internationals.

Both the teams will now lock horns in the second T20I which will also be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Sunday (September 6). With Australia being 1-0 up in the series, they have a great chance to seal the series by coming on top in the next game. On the other hand, it’ll be a do-or-die encounter for the home team, and they must leave no stones unturned to make a comeback.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2020 02:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).