England vs Australia 2nd T20 Match Prediction and Betting Tips

6.09.2020, 18:30 IST

Old Trafford Cricket Ground (Manchester)

Nothing like a thrilling finish between two evenly balanced teams. On Friday, we got just that when what was for the longest time looking like a one-way cakewalk turned out to be a gem in disguise. With England taking the first game, Australia now have to play catch-up, and maybe then try to convert it into a win. As long as they don’t play the downright despicable cricket they churned out for the last 6 overs of the last match, they have every chance to do so. England on the other hand will be counting their lucky stars and thanking Australia for practically throwing the game. They just need one more victory to seal the series, and there’s nothing they would like more than to win it right away and hope to stretch it into a whitewash. Before the two oldest teams in cricket resume their titanic battle, let’s take a look at the last match.

1st T20 Analysis and Takeaways

Winning the toss, Australia chose to let their hosts take position in front of the sticks. Throughout their bowling inning, they picked up regular wickets and kept the pressure on the batsmen. This meant that other than Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan - who scored 44 and 66 respectively, only one of the other 7 batsmen was able to reach double figures with a mere 14.

Coming out to chase, Australia started beautifully. With both David Warner and Aaron Finch hammering the ball around the park. At 98-0 it looked like Australia were about to wrap it up without perhaps even losing a wicket, but then began the disaster. First the openers fell, and things were still under control. One by one, though, batsmen started coming and going. From 39 required from 6 overs with 8 wickets in hand, they slipped to needing 15 off the last over with 4 wickets to spare. By that point, they didn’t have the batting chops remaining at their disposal and lost by 2 runs.

England vs Australia 2nd T20 Match Prediction

Despite their foolish loss, one can’t blame Australia for being a little out of sorts - the team hasn’t played a T20i since before the lockdown. Players are rusty and perhaps need a match or two to shake off the jitters. Plus this is T20 cricket, so things can change very quickly on any given day. Australia will now want to use their lessons from the first game to even the series. On the other hand, England were not only hot off their T20 series against Pakistan, which they drew, but also are the only team that has been playing cricket regularly for well over a month now. With some key players in good form, they are one of the few teams in the world that can effectively pose a threat to Australia on paper.

Spurred on by the result of the first match, England will definitely be going out all guns blazing. Expect Eion Morgan and Dawid Malan to hype them up with the bat, while Tom Curran and Adil Rashid hold the first with the ball.

Australia will try their best not to let their oldest rivals dethrone them from the ICC T20 ranking top spot. Expect David Warner and Aaron Finch to once again get the runs, while Ashton Agar and Kane Richardson pick up some important wickets.