The second T20I between Australia and England got underway at Manuka Oval, Canberra. After being put in to bat first by the Australian captain Aaron Finch, England ended up scoring 178 at the end of their innings. There were several memorable moments in the match, however, Ben Stokes’ breathtaking fielding to save a six in the 12th over of the second innings is going viral on the Internet.
The incident took place on the first ball of the 12th over bowled by Sam Curran. Mitchell Marsh played a lofted straight drive to a full-length deliver by Curran sending the ball high in the night sky. Ben Stokes, who was stationed at long off, was quick to judge the trajectory of the ball and jumped to grab hold of it. The ball got stuck in his hand however the momentum took him over the boundary rope.
Watch the video here:
Simply outstanding! Ben Stokes saves six with some acrobatics on the rope! #AUSvENG #PlayOfTheDay | #Dettol pic.twitter.com/5vmFRobfif
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 12, 2022
The all-rounder was smart enough to quickly get rid of the ball and save four runs for his team. Stokes’ acrobatic effort left the crowd and commentators awestruck. Coming back to the match, England got to a good total of 178 courtesy of brilliant knocks from Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali.
England win the series 2-0 with one game to play
Malan scored a scintillating 82 off 49 balls while Ali scored a blistering 44 off 27 balls. Australian chase got off to a miserable start as openers Aaron Finch and David Warner were sent back to the pavilion with the score on 22. Glenn Maxwell once again failed with the bat as he departed after scoring 8 off 11 balls.
Mitchell Marsh played a magnificent knock to keep his team in the hunt in the chase. However, he couldn’t take his team home as he was dismissed after scoring 45 off 29 balls leaving his team at 114/5 after 14.1 overs. After Marsh’s knock, Tim David launched an onslaught on the England attack scoring a quick-fire 40 off 23 balls. David was cleaned up by Sam Curran in the 18th over with the score on 145/6. A brilliant cameo from Pat Cummins of 18 from 11 balls took Australia close to England’s total but they eventually fell eight runs short.
With this win, England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The two teams will meet in the third T20I on Friday at the same venue.
