Southampton: Australia opener Travis Head smashed 30 runs off the over from Sam Curran during his blazing 23-ball 59 and helped his side to a 28-run victory over England in Southampton on late in Wednesday night.
Head hit Curran for three fours and three massive sixes during the fifth over of Australia’s innings as the Aussies compiled a big score of 179 at The Rose Bowl, which proved too much for the hosts as they were bowled out for just 151 in reply.
Head was at his brilliant best against England as he raced to 50 inside the Powerplay and combined well with fellow opener Matt Short (41) to put on 86 for the opening wicket in quick time.
At one stage, Australia were on track for a score in excess of 200, but Liam Livingstone (3-22) restricted the tourists to an achievable target, ICC reports.
Veteran seamer Josh Hazlewood (2/32) bowled well for Australia with the new ball and Adam Zampa (2/20) and Sean Abbott (3/28) followed suit as England provided little resistance and fell well short of the winning target.
The victory gives Australia a 1-0 lead in the three-match series ahead of the next match in Cardiff on Friday.
The 30 runs that Head managed against Curran ties an Australian men’s record for most runs from one T20I over, with the left-hander joining the likes of Ricky Ponting, Daniel Christian and Mitch Marsh as compatriots to have matched the feat.
The international record for most runs from one T20I over came last month when Samoa’s Darius Visser smashed 39 from one over against Vanuatu, while there have been five previous occasions in men’s T20I where 36 runs have been taken from one over including Yuvraj Singh’s famous effort at the 2007 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
–IANS