Australia defeated England in the second One-Day International (ODI) at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to seal the three-match series on Saturday.
Batting first, the hosts posted 280/8 on the board in their assigned 50 overs thanks to brilliant half-century by Steve Smith. The former Australia skipper partnered with Marnus Labuschagne after losing their opening batters early.
Smith and Labushchagne formed a crucial stand of 101 runs for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed for a well-made 58 off 55 deliveries.
Smith continued tickling the scoreboard and built another vital partnership of 90 runs with Mitchell Marsh (50) for the fifth wicket. Smith was cruising towards his triple-figure score but fell short by six runs as leg-spinner Adil Rashid dismissed him. The New South Wales batter went on to score 94 from 114 deliveries, with the help of five fours and a six.
In response, England had a shaky start as they lost three wickets for just 34 before James Vince and Sam Billings calmed things down. The duo added 122 runs for the fourth wicket to keep England in the game.
However, the situation changed dramatically when Australia’s stand-in skipper Josh Hazlewood got rid of Vince (60) and broke the partnership. The dismissal of Vince triggered a collapse with England being all out for just 208 in 38.5 overs, losing the contest by 72 runs.
For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa shined with the ball. Starc picked up a 4-fer for 47 runs in 8 overs, including a maiden. Similarly, Zampa too bagged four scalps while conceding 45 runs in 9.5 overs.
“It looks easy to bat on when a partnership is going. But only a wicket away from causing a collapse on such a pitch. Very happy with 280. It’s good fun having captaincy. Will obviously hand it back to Pat for the last game. Will see what Melbourne dishes out. He said he’s back (Smith). Summer looks good for him,” said Hazlewood after the match.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Mitchell Starc gets the nod as Player of the Match after a sizzling display with the ball! #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/7Wx9qd9kuR
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 19, 2022
Australia won the ODI series against World Champions England.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 19, 2022
Most wickets in the first over of a men’s ODI innings since January 2012:
22 – Mitchell Starc 🇦🇺
19 – Lasith Malinga 🇱🇰
10 – Mohammad Irfan 🇵🇰
9 – James Anderson 🏴
7 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar 🇮🇳Credit: @joshschon #AUSvENG
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) November 19, 2022
Further proof that Mitchell Starc and the new ball are a couple that should never be split up #AusvEng
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) November 19, 2022
Australia to win #TheAshes
Steve Smith—Highest Run-ScorerBy the way, when was the last time England won the Ashes Down Under?
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 19, 2022
The Greatest of all Time- Steve Smith ♥️ pic.twitter.com/J9R59zupwE
— Avinash Aryan (@AvinashArya09) November 19, 2022
Players dismissed at nervous nineties (90-99) against a team in Tests, ODIs and T20Is:
Shikhar Dhawan🇮🇳 v Sri Lanka
Steve Smith🇦🇺 v England#AUSvENG— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) November 19, 2022
Steve Smith averages 60.78 in ODIs at the SCG, the highest of all players (min 10 inns) #AUSvENG
— Josh Schönafinger (@joshschon) November 19, 2022
England collapsed from 156-3 to 208 all out, losing 7-52
Australia win by 72 runs and win the series
Mitch Starc MotM for 4-47#AUSvENG
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) November 19, 2022
Mitchell Starc won the player of the match for his terrific bowling including 2 wickets in the first over.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 19, 2022
Quite a collapse from England, losing 7 wickets for just 52.
Scorecard: https://t.co/4QFXusaZVP#AUSvENG #2ndODI pic.twitter.com/Ns9Ne7pJK6— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) November 19, 2022