Australia’s soggy stay at the Champions Trophy was brought an ultimate end, as England defeated their arch rivals by 40 runs (DLS) to cruise into the semi–finals with an undefeated record in the group stages. This win also served another purpose, as it paved the way for Bangladesh to make their first semi-final appearance in a multi-nation ICC tournament.
Batting first, Australia posted 277/9 in 50 overs. The total would have been better had the middle order managed to produce something worthy. The end result was based on the knocks from opener Aaron Finch (68 from 64 balls) and skipper Steve Smith (56 runs from 77 balls).
England, in response, suffered early setbacks but managed to end on the winning side, all thanks to skipper Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and rain. The combination of three ensured a quick finish to the game.
Jason Roy had another poor game while Alex Hales was unexpectedly removed for a four-ball duck by Josh Hazlewood. Problem aggravated when Joe Root was also undone, as Hazlewood struck again which saw England get reduced to 35/3.
However, the early damage was taken care of by Morgan – Stokes pair who added 159 for the 4th wicket in 26.1 overs. The stand put England in a commanding position before the rains arrived.
Morgan registered his second fifty in the tournament while Stokes was a step ahead and went on to hammer his 3rd ODI hundred. At the time of the delay, England stood at 240/4 which was well ahead of the DLS par score of 200/4.
Stokes was adjudged as the Man of the Match. Here is what he had to say about his performance today:
“It is going along nicely. It is a case of where I look back and feel that the training is a lot more consistent. Also, I have a bit more confidence going into bat. Buttler and Morgan are a good influence. We just spoke about what the conditions were and we just wanted to take it by the ball.”
“Hopefully I can keep it going forward. We just wanted to get on with the game, especially when we are batting well together. When you have a guy striking as well as Morgan is you can take your time to get set and get the pace of the pitch. Hopefully, all players could take confidence out of it. Physically I am good, the body feels in good nick, haven’t had many problems with the knee. Touchwood.”