[Watch] Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood secure team hat-trick for England in T20I series opener against Australia
England and Australia locked horns in the T20I series opener of their three-match series at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Wednesday, September 11. England won the toss and chose to field first.
Australia were off to a fantastic start with the bat, courtesy of opening batters Travis Head and Matthew Short's knocks of 59 and 41, respectively. Keeper-batter Josh Inglis also made an impact with the bat, scoring 37 runs.
The English bowlers did a commendable job towards the back end of the innings, taking wickets at regular intervals to dent Australia's chances of posting a mammoth total. Pacers Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood even teamed up for a team hat-trick, helping their side claim three wickets off successive balls in the death overs.
It started with Archer sending back Sean Abbott in the penultimate ball of the 18th over. Abbot exposed his stumps as he walked across a bit too much. While it was a full toss, he was undone by the extra pace and the ball ended up crashing into the stumps.
The speedster struck again, dismissing Xavier Bartlett in the subsequent delivery for a golden duck with a stunning yorker. On the first ball of the next over, it was Mahmood who claimed a wicket with a yorker, rattling Cameron Green's stumps as England completed a team hat-trick.
You can watch the video of the team hat-trick below:
Liam Livingstone was the pick of the English bowlers, registering figures of 3-0-22-3. Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood picked up two wickets each as Australia were ultimately bundled out for 179 in 19.3 overs.
Australia beat England by 28 runs in first T20I of their ongoing three-match series
England failed to chase down Australia's 180-run target in the recently concluded T20I series opener. Their run chase began on a dismal note, with opener Will Jacks falling to Josh Hazlewood for six in the second over.
While a few batters got off to starts, they failed to convert them into big scores. Liam Livingstone was the only batter who was able to cross the 30-run mark, scoring 37 runs.
Stand-in skipper Philip Salt was the next best performer with the bat for the hosts, scoring 20 runs at the top of the order. The side were bowled out for 151 in 19.2 overs, suffering a 28-run defeat.
Sean Abbott claimed three wickets, while Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa shared two wickets a piece. The second T20I of the series will be played at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Friday, September 13.