Lahore [Pakistan], February 23 (ANI): Following his side’s win over England in their ICC Champions Trophy campaign opener, Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis said that he is “over the moon” after his match-winning century and it has “pumped” him on a personal level.
Inglis registered his name in record books, scoring the joint-fastest century in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy, orchestrating a masterclass finish with Glenn Maxwell to guide the Aussies to a five-wicket win over their arch-rivals at Lahore.
Speaking after the match, Inglis said, “Over the moon, great win. We knew it was going to be tough coming up against England, it always is. 350 – a lot of things have to go right to chase that down. Really pumped on a personal level. For the guys out there, it was a great performance. There was not too much (talk) at the halftime (after England’s batting). We had done a lot of talking before the game. We knew that the second half here was going to be tough with all the dew. It is quite wet now. It was always going to be better for us batting second.
Speaking about the partnership with Carey, he said, “He (Carey) does not really say anything when he bats, just a few words here and there. I was trying not to look at the scoreboard too much. We were going so well that we just need to keep chipping away.”
Further adding about the finish of the match, Inglis said, “We knew with Maxi still in the sheds, there would always be a chance. I still think that their part-time options are very handy, Livi (Liam Livingstone) and Rooty (Joe Root) have bowled a lot in international cricket, you cannot respect their bowling. I tried to be proactive.”
Australia opted to bowl first and looked set for a fine outing when England was 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 the 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.
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. 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. (ANI)
