Malan, Moeen, Curran star as England clinch T20I series against Australia
Hosts Australia were given a target of 179 and they were well on course thanks to sublime hitting from Mitchell Marsh (45 off 29) and Tim David. England required 34 off the final three overs but Sam Curran bowled a brilliant 18th over, conceding three runs and getting David's (40 off 23) wicket.
Jos Buttler won his first T20I series as full-time captain after taking over from Eoin Morgan as England delivered yet another clinical performance against Australia to earn an eight-run win at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Hosts Australia were given a target of 179 and they were well on course thanks to sublime hitting from Mitchell Marsh (45 off 29) and Tim David. England required 34 off the final three overs but Sam Curran bowled a brilliant 18th over, conceding three runs and getting David's (40 off 23) wicket.
That over almost sealed the deal for Australia. Pat Cummins (18* off 11) gave a little bit of a scare but Reece Topley and Curran managed to keep Australia's chasing hero Matthew Wade (10* off 10) quiet. They needed 22 off the final over but Curran restricted them to 13.
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Earlier, England were in a bit of trouble as they were 54 for four in the 9th over. After that, Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali (44 off 27) added 92 off just 8.4 overs to power England to 178 for seven. Malan was adjudged the player of the match for his game-changing 82 off 49 balls. The left-hander smashed seven fours and four sixes.
The two sides will meet again on the same venue on Friday.
