Australia took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against world champions England on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval, winning the opening game by a huge margin of 6 wickets and more than 3 overs to spare.
Australia produced an all-round show in the opening game of the series which was certainly not the most attractive cricket contest between two top teams since the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 has finished very recently and the players, particularly from the title winners England camp, have not found any time to rest and recuperate.
England, who were also missing several of their frontline players such as MoM in the final Sam Curran and Ben Stokes, did not have a memorable outing when Australia’s new ODI captain Pat Cummins won the toss and invited them to bat first. The English side had most of their batsmen failing to chip in with valuable contributions, as a stunning century from Dawid Malan took England to a competitive score of 287/9 in their 50 overs.
The left-handed Dawid Malan, not long ago was rated as the topmost batsman in the world in the shortest format, had missed the business end of the T20 World Cup for England, But given the depth that is there in their side, he was hardly missed but England would be glad that one of their batting mainstays has returned with a bang.
Playing in his 10th ODI, Dawid Malan brought up his second century of his career, top scoring from either team with 134 from 128 balls with the help of 12 boundaries and 4 sixes.
His stunning century was instrumental in England posting a strong total on the board eventually, even though most of their batsmen flopped with the bat on Thursday.
Mitchell Starc returned to the Australian side and bamboozled Jason Roy with an in-swinger that broke his defence and crashed into the stumps, as the hosts took the early upper hand. Phil Salt could not proceed beyond 15-ball 14 while James Vince (5) Sam Billings (17) and Jos Buttler (29) could not provide much support to Dawid Malan, who was batting brilliantly at the other end.
Towards the end of the first innings, David Willey played a vital knock of 34 from 40 balls with 3 boundaries that pushed England’s total closer to the 300-run mark.
For Australia, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa both took 3 wickets each but they were expensive in their respective bowling spells.
In their reply, Australia were off to a flying start with the new opening pair of Travis Head and David Warner adding 147 runs to put their side in complete command of the contest. Travis Head made 69 from just 57 balls with 10 boundaries and a six. David Warner also cracked 10 fours and a six but he finished with a higher total of 86 from 84 balls.
While Marnus Labuschagne (4) did not have a memorable outing, it was a solid 80 not out from 78 balls with 9 fours and a six coming off the bat of Steve Smith that took Australia past the finish line.
Among the other contributors in the Australian innings, Alex Carey (21) and Cameron Green (20) not out.
The second ODI between the two teams will be played on Sunday, November 20.