Couple of brilliant strike from Harry Kane saw England win their opening match against Tunisia in Russia. It was a crucial victory for the English side. Historically they have always struggled to start well in the big competition. This win will boost the confidence of England side in the matches to come. For the first time, England has come to the mega event without any prior expectation, it has helped them play freely in their opening match.
On the following day far away from Russia at Trent-Bridge England cricket team put up a scintillating performance against their arch-rival Australia as they scored a mammoth 481/6. It’s the highest team total in One-Day-International history as England broke their own record of (444/3) against Pakistan on the same venue. After having sent in to bat two English opening batsmen Jason Roy (82) and J Bairstow (139) put up a huge partnership. After the loss of the first wicket, local lad Alex Hales walked in to bat at no.3 and scored a breath-taking hundred in front of his home crowd. Hales has a fantastic record at Trent Bridge. Captain Eion Morgan also scored a breezy 67 before he got out. At one stage Australia was in danger of conceding 500 runs in men’s ODIs. But the loss of well-settled Hales (147) and Morgan in successive deliveries, has saved Australia from the blushes.
Aussies, on the other hand, were never in the game as they eventually lost the match by a huge margin of 242 runs. This is Australia’s heaviest defeat in terms of runs in ODIs. It seems that Australian cricket team has still not recovered from the fiasco in South Africa. After the sacking of Steve Smith and David Warner, Australian side never looked the same as they were used to be. With this victory, England has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
