ENG vs AUS 3rd T20I: Australia Beat England in 3rd T20I and Regain Top Spot in ICC T20 Rankings

Australia managed to beat England by five wickets in 3rd T20I and avoid series whitewash at Southampton on Tuesday to regain top spot in the ICC International T20 Rankings as they defeated the hosts by five wickets and ended the series with a consolation win.

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and invite hosts to bat, Jonny Bairstow’s brilliant 55 of 44 balls and Joe Danly’s 29* of 19 guided England to a decent score of 145/6 at the end of the 20.

Australia expressed its intentions in the first three overs where team’s score reached 30 but they suffered a collapse that saw them slump to 100-5.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid taking 3-21 including the key wickets of captain Aaron Finch (39) and star batsman Steve Smith brings England back in the game.

But Mitchell Marsh’s crucial 39* of 36 balls and Ashton Agar’s 16* of 13 saw them home with three balls to spare and helps tourists to avoid series whitewash at Southampton. However, England won a three-match series by 2-1.

Mitchell Marsh was named man of the match.

“We saw in the first game when we put Australia under pressure they crumbled. I felt they could have done that again and if we had taken those chances we would have won the game for sure,” said Moeen.

“The incentive was there to be no 1 in the world. I think it was a lack of intensity. Generally, we were slow and poor in the field and we have to put that right if we want to win the World Cup.”

Australia Keep Hold of World No 1 in ICC T20I Rankings

Australia managed to regain its Number 1 T20I spot back despite the series defeat. England had to win the series’s final to topple Australia from the number 1 spot in ICC T20I Rankings after going level on Sunday but had to be content with a 2-1 series win instead.

Match Summary – England vs Australia 3rd T20I

England			145-6 (20)
Jonny Bairstow	55 (44)	Adam Zampa	2/34 (4)
Joe Denly	29* (19)	Mitchell Starc	1/20 (4)
Moeen Ali	23 (21)	Josh Hazlewood	1/23 (4)

Australia			146-5 (19.3)
Aaron Finch	39 (26)	Adil Rashid	3/21 (4)
Mitchell Marsh	39* (36)	Tom Curran	1/23 (4)
Marcus Stoinis	26 (18)	Mark Wood	1/38 (4)