Australia beat England in 1st ODI
Shane Watson came out to shine as Australia beat England in the first of seven One Day Internationals. England must have felt good after making 293 in the first innings, but, in the end, an unbeaten century by Aussie all rounder, Watson ensured that Australia
chased down the target with 6 wickets in hand.
England captain, Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first on a track that was looking quite flat. Strauss came out to open with Steve Davies, and the opening pair gave the away team a good start. The MCG pitch was not offering much assistance
to the Aussie bowlers and the two openers were playing shots all around the field. The first wicket partnership lasted till the 13th over and the openers took the score to 90, when Davies was dismissed for 42 runs. The wicketkeeper was bowled by
off by spinner, David Hussey.
Jonathan Trott, one of the consistent scorers of the Test series, was in next, but he did not last long, being caught behind off the bowling of David Hussey for just 6 runs. Kevin Pietersen walked in next with a point to prove- the right hander had been
dropped in England’s last ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. Pietersen looked determined in his play and offered good support to Strauss before Strauss was dismissed for a well made 63. Ian Bell and Pietersen kept the score ticking and added 43 runs for the 4th
wicket, taking the score to 174. Bell was dismissed for 23 runs- he was caught by Michael Clarke off the bowling of Steven Smith. At the 30 over mark, England were looking set to score more than 300 runs, but some quick wickets attenuated their progress. Eoin
Morgan and Michael Yardy came and left quickly for 8 and 9 runs respectively. It was fast bowler, Tim Bresnan who gave some support to Pietersen, who was going great guns at the other end. Kevin Pietersen was dismissed for 78 runs, when he was run out while
trying to retain the strike. England ended the innings at 293- all out- and Australia knew that they were in for a tough time.
Australia’s start was also solid; Shane Watson and Brad Haddin did not take any prisoners in the initial overs, and went all out for their shots. The home team knew that they had to maintain a good rate if they were to get to 294. The first breakthrough
for England came in the 20th over, when Haddin was caught off the bowling of Graeme Swann for 39 runs. The first wicket partnership of 110 had given http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 the perfect platform to build upon an inning fit to chase the huge target.
Stand-in captain, Michael Clarke decided to stay 2nd fiddle to Watson and continued to knock the ball around as Watson kept going for his shots. The partnership lasted for 103 runs, when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 was dismissed for 36 runs. Next man in was leg spinner,
Steven Smith. Smith could not impress and was sent back for just 6 runs. Michael Hussey, the man for all occasions, walked in and knew that all he needed to do was help Watson at the other end, and the left hander stuck to the job. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326, after getting to
his hundred, really cut loose and smashed back-to-back sixes off Yardy's deliveries. After Hussey was dismissed, Cameron White was sent in to keep the chase going, and Shane Watson ended the game in a spectacular fashion by hitting a six of the first ball
of the final over. Watson remained unbeaten on 161 and was thus named the man of the match. Australia now lead the 7 match series 1-0.
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