Lahore [Pakistan], February 23 (ANI): A high-octane meeting between arch-rivals Australia and England, two recently underperforming powerhouses, exceeded all the hype as power-packed performances from Ben Duckett and Josh Inglis headlined a record-breaking match.
Within one night, several ICC Champions Trophy and ICC white-ball event records were broken and it was only right that the oldest superpowers of the cricketing world got the right to shatter them.
-England breaks Champions Trophy total, highest individual score records:
Australia opted to bowl first and looked set for a fine outing when England were reduced to 43/2, with a move to promote young wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith at number-three not paying off. However, Ben Duckett and Joe Root (68 in 78 balls, with four boundaries) responded with a well-compiled counter-attack, helping England cross 200-runs with a 158-run stand. With wickets falling at other end, Duckett kept swinging mercilessly his way towards 165 in 143 balls, with 17 fours and three sixes. England scored 351/8 in their 50 overs.
Ben Dwarshuis (3/66) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, while Adam Zampa (2/64) and Matthew Short (2/41) took two wickets as well.
Duckett’s 165 outdid New Zealand’s Nathan Astle’s 145* against USA in the Champions Trophy 2004 to become the highest individual score in the tournament’s history. England’s score of 351/8 also outdid NZ’s 347/4 from that match to become the highest-ever total in the tournament history.
-Aussies lose two experienced stars, Mark Wood’s record-breaking speed spell:
In the run-chase of 352, Australia lost Travis Head and Steve Smith for single-digits, losing their two most reliable bats at the score of 27/2. In the powerplay during the first 10 overs, Wood sent down a fiery four-over spell that has registered itself in history books, with an average speed of 151.2 kph. He also managed to get the big wicket of Smith that put the Aussies at the backfoot early on.
As per a graphic by Cricbuzz, in his 24-ball spell, his speed dipped below 150 kph only twice, at 147.6 and 149.7. The highest speed that he touched was 153.3 kph.
As per CricViz, a cricket data and analytics provider, this spell is the quickest-ever for England. It is also the quickest-ever in an ICC ODI tournament.
-Australia’s resilient middle order and explosive finish:
A 95-run stand between Labuschagne (47 in 45 balls, with five fours) and Matt Short (63 in 66 balls, nine fours and six) took Australia beyond the 100-run mark, but Aussies once again stumbled to 136/4 thanks to some brilliance of spin wizard Adil Rashid.
But with an explosive trio of middle-order batters still waiting, giving up was not a choice. ‘Aussie mentality’ did start to set in with every boundary hit, with every six sent into the skies. An aggressive Alex Carey (69 in 63 balls, with eight fours) had a 146-run partnership that put the match within Australia’s reach.
Carey was dismissed by Brydon Carse, but Inglis (120* in 86 balls, with eight fours and six sixes) and Maxwell (32* in 15 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) finished off the match by unleashing some T20-style shots with their trademark audacity, giving no heed to match situation and lack of batting firepower left below them, with 15 balls left and five wickets in hand.
-Australia pull off record-breaking chase, Inglis ties with legendary Sehwag
This is the highest-ever run-chase in any ICC ODI event, outdoing Pakistan’s 345 against Sri Lanka at the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup, and the highest-ever total in ICC Champions Trophy history, outdoing England by a run in this aspect. This is also the second-highest ODI run chase by Australia and the highest ODI run chase against England. On the Pakistan soil, this is the highest ODI run-chase ever.
Inglis’s 77-ball ton is tied with Virender Sehwag’s ton against England in 2002 as the fastest ton in the tournament history. (ANI)
