Feel Sorry For The Bowlers, Says Harbhajan Singh As England Score A Record 481 For 6 Against Australia

It was not the performance Australia would have hoped for in the do-or-die third One-Day International against England on Tuesday. Down 2-0 in the five-match series, the reigning world champions needed to win the game to keep the series alive. However, they came up with their worst performance in the series so far as England shattered the record of highest-ever ODI total.

Asked to bat first on a flat Trent Bridge pitch, England piled up a staggering 481 for 6 in the allotted 50 overs. Centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales, plus a 21-ball half-century from Eoin Morgan  helped them eclipse the 444 for three they made at the same venue against Pakistan two years ago.

Overall, England thrashed 41 fours and 21 sixes, with AJ Tye going for 100 from nine overs, and Marcus Stoining leaking 81 from eight.

Bairstow smashed 139 – his fourth ODI century in six games – while Hales hit 147. Bairstow’s knock came off just 92 balls and contained 15 fours and 5 sixes. On the other hand, Hales hit 16 fours and 5 sixes during his 147-run knock.

Jason Roy brought up England’s 100 in the 14th over with a straight six off Glenn Maxwell, and the 150 stand arrived in the 19th. The right-handed batsman scored 82 off just 61 balls to lay the platform for a huge total. Bairstow continued to torment the Australians, completing his fourth one-day hundred in six innings off 69 balls.

Still the runs kept coming. Hales brought up the 300 with a flick for six off Stanlake, before Bairstow departed. The second-wicket stand was worth 151 at 10 an over. Jos Buttler could not do much but Hales was going strong from one end. The hard-hitting batsman, who had contributed 171 against the Pakistanis in 2016 – soon completed a 62-ball century. Morgan then rubbed salt to Australia’s wounds by scoring a 21-ball fifty, the fastest for England in ODIs.

And while the world hailed the England batsmen, veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh spared a thought for the bowlers, tweeting:

“A whirlwind of an innings from England to score close to 500 runs in a 50 over game. Looked more like an extended T20 match. feel sorry for th bowlers.”

A whirlwind of an innings from England to score close to 500 runs in a 50 over game. Looked more like an extended T20 match. feel sorry for th bowlers . #ENGvAUS

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) June 19, 2018