Australia Out, Bangladesh Make it to Champions Trophy Semi Final

After two washouts, Australia may have been raring to make a go of things as they took on England at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Saturday in Match No 10 of the currently ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2017. While England had already made it to the semi final, Australia would have made their semi final berth if they had won yesterday’s match. In the event they did not; they would have lost even without yet another commanding and decisive innings by Mr. Duckworth and Mr. Lewis!

Australia batted first

Winning the toss, England skipper Eoin Morgan put the Aussies in to bat first. Opener Aaron Finch gave his team a great start with his 68 off 64. Other contributions came from David Warner (21 off 25), captain Steven Smith (56 off 77) and Travis Head (71 off 64).

The Australians made 277 for 9

The lower order failed to add much to the runs made by the top and middle order batsmen. In the event the English were set a total of 278 for victory.

It was a bumpy start for England

Both openers departed early: Jason Roy made just 4 runs and Alex Hales was out caught without scoring.  Skipper Morgan and the redoubtable Ben Stokes took charge and appeared to take the game away from the Australians. Morgan made 87 off 81 before he was run out.

It was Ben Stokes’s innings that stood out

He made a century; 102 off 109 balls that ensured a win for his team. This innings also earned him the Man of the Match award.

The Duckworth Lewis ‘Innings’

The rain appeared to have been waiting for Ben Stokes to complete his century. No sooner had Stokes stroked a boundary to get his ton, than the rain came down. Since it was coming down heavily, the game was abandoned. In the end England won by 40 runs since they were deemed to have been set a revised total of 201 off 40.2 overs to win. Australia’s loss meant that it is Bangladesh that made it to the semi finals of the tournament; both semis berths now decided for Group A

Its South Africa v India today

None of the semi final berths have been decided for the Group B teams as yet. Some clarity will emerge today after the India – South Africa game. Both teams go into the match with two points: one win from two games, though India is ahead in terms of run-rate. The fates of Sri Lanka and Pakistan (at third and fourth positions respectively on the points table with two points each) also hang in the balance.

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