England destroyed Australia in the opener

England 6-269 (Ian Bell 91, Ravi Bopara 46*, Clint McKay 2-38) beat Australia 9-221 (George Bailey 55, James Faulkner 54*, James Anderson 3-30, Tim Bresnan 2-45) by 48 runs.

Ian Bell provided a solid start with his excellent batting as the Australian batsmen struggled against the lethal bowling of England who won the game easily.

England hammered 269 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allocated 50 overs and Australia scored 221 with one wicket left after availing the required quota of overs.

Ian Bell (England) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his match winning knock of 91 runs.

The 3rd match of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy was played on Saturday, June 8, 2013, at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Earlier, Alastair Cook won the toss for the home side and did not hesitate to bat first. He opened the innings along with Ian Bell reasonably well by scoring 54 runs in 10 overs with three boundaries from each batsman. Cook was caught behind by Matthew Wade off Shane Watson for 30 and was replaced by Jonathan Trott as the boundaries were dried up until the 17th over when Trott tasted his first four. Ian Bell reached his 27th ODI fifty in the 23rd over and started playing his shots frequently after that. He was dropped at 78 by Mitchell Marsh off his own bowling as Trott kept on creeping at his end.

Ian Bell - A masterly knock of 91 runs
Ian Bell – A masterly knock of 91 runs

The second wicket fell at 168 in 33.4 overs when Jonathan Trott was caught behind by Wade off Mitchell Starc for 43. Ian Bell departed at 189 as his stumps were uprooted by James Faulkner for 91 off 115 balls with 7 fours. The next two batsmen went back to the pavilion cheaply and Ravi Bopara played a breezy unbeaten knock of 46 off 37 with 1 six and 3 fours. England powered 269 runs with four wickets remaining at the close of the 50th over.

Clint McKay and James Faulkner were the main wicket takers with two each whereas Mitchell Starc and Shane Watson claimed one wicket each.

The Kangaroos did not have a great start as David Warner became the first victim at 17 after contributing just 9 runs. Phillip Hughes got together with Shane Watson and the run rate was slowed down considerably as they hit just three fours until the 14th over. The pair took the score to 47 when Shane Watson was gone for 24 runs in the 15th over as the Australian skipper, George Bailey, appeared in the park. The English bowlers maintained a tight line and length and the batsmen were unable to get any boundary in the following seven overs. They scored 13 runs in the 23rd over with a couple of fours as Phillip Hughes was declared leg before wicket off Joe Root for 30 as the total touched 94 in 25.4 overs.

George Bailey secured his end as the middle order batting collapsed and they were reeling at 6-136 after 36 overs and defeat was hanging on their heads. James Faulkner associated with Bailey who attained his fifth ODI fifty in the next over but was dismissed for 55 off 69 deliveries with just 2 fours. James Faulkner was the only other batsman who provided some resistance and remained unbeaten for 54 off 67 balls with 1 six and 5 fours as Australia managed 9-221 in 50 overs.

James Anderson was the supreme bowler with three wickets, Tim Bresnan held two, whereas Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, Joe Root and Ravi Bopara shared one wicket each.

England triumphed in the one sided encounter with a good margin of 48 runs and got two points.


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