David Warner, Steve Smith’s half-century outshine Dawid Malan’s ton as Australia pip England in first ODI

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Australia defeated England by 6 wickets in the first One-Day International (ODI) of the ongoing three-match series at tthe Adelaide Oval on Thursday (November 18).

Chasing 288, the hosts went off to a flying start and took the game away from the tourists. David Warner and Travis Head completely dominated the proceedings and went on to form a brilliant opening partnership of 147 runs.

Chris Jordon drew the first blood in the form of Head, who was dismissed for a well-made 69 off 57 balls. Before England could breathe a little, Warner and Steve Smith built another crucial partnership of 53 runs for the second wicket. Warner, cruising to make a triple-figure score, was eventually dismissed for 86. Smith, however, stayed unbeaten on 80 and took his team over the finish line in 46.5 overs.

Earlier, a stunning hundred from Dawid Malan helped England post 287/9 on the scoreboard in their allotted 50 overs. Though at one stage, the total didn’t look anywhere in sight as the visitors were reeling at 66/4. But Malan ensured England put up a fight as he single-handedly led the recovery with a brilliant 134 from 128 deliveries, including 12 fours and 4 sixes. The second-highest scorer for England in their innings was all-rounder David Willey, who chipped in with an unbeaten 34 (40).

“Fantastic performance, a really team effort. Everyone came here fresh. Ashton Agar came in after a few days, nice to see everyone step up. We’ve got plenty of Test cricket coming up, to see Smith play like this was really pleasing. He’s been putting in a lot of effort in the nets. Pretty pleased with my bowling performance as well,” said Australian captain Pat Cummins in the post-match presentation.

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