Australia stun England as they register highest successful run chase in ICC tournament
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Lahore: Australia recorded the highest successful run chase in ICC tournaments on Saturday when they surprised England with a 5-wicket win in a match where records were rewritten. Josh Inglis' unbeaten knock of 120 runs helped Australia to chase down a total of 351 runs set by England in their first match of the ICC Champions Trophy, 2025.
Opening batsman Ben Duckett's record score of 165 runs propelled England to the highest total scored by any team in the Champions Trophy. Duckett's knock was the highest runs scored by a player in the history of the tournament. But England's joys were short-lived when Australian batsmen took the stage for themselves. Australia's score of 356-5 surpassed England's total to rewrite the record books.
Chasing a target of 352 runs, Australia started their innings on a low note losing two early wickets for just 27. Travis Head was caught and bowled by Archer while captain Smith was dismissed by Mark Wood for just five runs. Matthew Short and Labuschagne added 95 runs for the third wicket, taking the score to 122 runs. Labuschagne was dismissed by Adil Rashid in the 19th over, and shortly after, Short was sent off by Livingstone.
England were eyeing a comfortable victory when Inglis and Carey added 156 runs, shattering English dreams. Though Carey was dismissed in the 41st over, it was not enough for England to stage a comeback in the game, later sealed by a quick fire from Maxwell and Inglis.
Earlier, called in to bat first, England did not get the desired start that they hoped for. The three lions were given a 'double shock' by Australian pacer Ben Dwarshius, who appeared in his third one-day international match. In the second over, Phil Salt tried to clear the ball through the on-side, but Alex Carey pulled off an amazing catch to dismiss the English opener. Three overs later, Jamie Smith's poor shot selection ended his innings in the hands of Carey again, with England score at 43 for 2 wickets.
Joe Root and Duckett kept the scoreboard ticking, frequently rotating strikes and taking on loose balls to punish Australian bowlers. England crossed 200 runs in the 29th over, shortly after which Root was dismissed by Adam Zampa. The Aussie spinner struck again, helped by an incredible arial effort from Carey, denying Harry Brook more than four overs in the pitch.
Duckett then took control of the innings and fired England past 300 runs with the help of Captain Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone. He was dismissed in the 47th over of a short delivery from Marnus Labuschagne after finding 20 boundaries, including three sixes. Jofra Archer started where Duckett left, scoring 21 runs of 10 balls to ensure England score went pass 350 runs. Dwarshuis was the pick of Aussie bowlers taking three wickets, with Zampa and Labuschagne claiming two each.
Brief Scores: England 351/8 in 50 overs (Ben Duckett 165, Joe Root 68; Ben Dwarshuis 3-66, Marnus Labuschagne 2-41, Adam Zampa 2-64) lost to Australia 356/5 in 47.3 overs (Josh Inglis 120 not out, Alex Carey 69, Matthew Short 63; Adil Rashid 1-47, Mark Wood 1-75, Jofra Archer 1-82)