Picture Credit: Twitter
England and Australia locked horns in the third and final T20I of the ongoing series between the two teams on Friday. Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bowl first. With rain interrupting the game more often than not, it was reduced to a 12-over-per-side game. England did great to post a hefty 112/2 in those 12 overs. Captain Buttler scored a half-century (65* off 41 balls). Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes also chipped in with 23 and 17 respectively.
Meanwhile, Australia lost early wickets in the chase before the rain made a final interruption. Eventually, the game was called off. With the third game abandoned, England won the three-match series 2-0 having won the first two games by eight runs each. Buttler was named Player of the Series.
Although the third T20I ended with no result, it produced quite a few moments to look at. One of those came on the last ball of the 12th over of England innings. It was rather a funny incident with Ben Stokes at the receiving end. On the last ball of the over, Maxwell bowled a loopy delivery which Stokes clobbered straight down the ground.
With firm power and the right timing on the shot, Stokes felt that the ball will race away to the boundary, and he did not leave his crease for a run, even though Buttler was charging in. But as the outfield was wet, the ball did not travel after landing. Hence, Stokes had to quickly reach the other end to complete a single, which he did. However, when the batter tried to sneak in the second, he slipped and fell to the ground. Nevertheless, everyone had a laugh about it in the end.
Watch the video here:
Now, as the T20I series is over, the two teams will start their preparations for the T20 World Cup Down Under. All teams will play two warm-up games before the group-stage kicks off on 22 October.