The first T20I between England and Australia went all the way to the wire with the hosts keeping their nerves to take a 1-0 lead. England, asked to bat, posted 162 runs on board with David Malan (66) and Jos Buttler (44) scoring most of the runs for their side. But Australia failed to chase down the target even after a strong start.
“Every single time, he delivers. T20 is not that easy to be consistent because at times you have to go in and give it a bit of a smack, he has been incredibly consistent,” Hussain told ‘Sky Sports’.
“What I like about him is that he doesn’t overhit. He’s got long levers, but you never really see Dawid Malan slogging, he’s in real control of all those shots,” he added.
In the match, Australia started their chase well with David Warner scoring a half-century and Aaron Finch hitting 48 runs but lost their way in the runs chase. The visitors, thus, lost the match by two runs. England captain Eoin Morgan was mighty pleased with the way Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan and Tom Curran bowled in the death and credited them for the victory.
Australia will look to avenge their first match defeat with a strong performance in the second match. England, however, will look to better their run scoring and consolidate their lead in the three-match T20I series. Both the team might opt for an unchanged eleven to maintain their respective momentum.
The second T20I will be played at the Rose Bowl stadium in Southampton on Sunday. After the series players from bot the team will head to UAE to join their franchises for the IPL 2020.
