ENG vs AUS: Jofra Archer, Saqib Mahmood feature in team hat-trick in first T20I in Southampton

Australian opener Travis Head put the England bowlers to the sword in the first T20I on Wednesday, September 11, at The Rose Bowl in Southampton. However, after the southpaw's dismissal, England bounced back strongly and took the last nine wickets for just 93 runs.

Head scored a scintillating 59 off just 23 balls as the Aussies amassed 86 runs in the powerplay. However, Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid started England's fightback through the middle overs before the pacers wreaked havoc at the backend. During the death overs, England registered a team hat trick. Jofra Archer dismissed Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett off the last two balls of the 18th over before Saqib Mahmood sent Cameron Green packing on the first ball of the 19th.

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All three dismissals saw the batters getting clean bowled. Abbot shuffled towards the off-side in a bid to access the leg-side boundary. However, he moved too far across and couldn't connect with the ball which uprooted his leg-stump. Archer followed it up with an accurate yorker to hit the off-stump as Bartlett was dismissed for a golden duck. Australia were 172/8 at that stage and the onus was on Green to provide a strong finish. However, the all-rounder was castled by a pinpoint yorker from Mahmood. The tourists were eventually bowled out for 179 in 19.3 overs.

🤝 TEAM HAT-TRICK ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PznX7yrujV

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 11, 2024

England falter in run-chase as Australia take 1-0 lead

Unlike Australia, England started their run-chase on a watchful note. Will Jacks' dismissal in the second over didn't help their cause either. At the end of the powerplay, England lost their captain Phil Salt and debutant Jordan Cox. Jacob Bethell was dismissed in the eighth over with the hosts struggling at 52/4.

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Livingstone and Sam Curran forged a counter-attacking 54-run partnership off 31 balls to start England's resurgence. However, they were dismissed in back-to-back overs before England were bowled out for 151 in 19.2 overs. Australia took a crucial 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with the second game scheduled to be played in Cardiff on Friday, September 13.