AUS vs ENG, 2nd T20I: England 178 for 7 (Malan 82, Moeen 44, Stoinis 3-34, Zampa 2-26) beat Australia 170 for 6 (Marsh 45, David 40, Curran 3-25) by eight runs

England won the T20I series by eight runs in Canberra, with Dawid Malan scoring a blistering 82 and Sam Curran once more maintaining his composure with the bat. England defeated a full-strength Australia to build momentum for the upcoming T20 World Cup after winning by the same margin in the series opener in Perth.

After the visitors were sent to bat on a seaming pitch in chilly conditions, Malan’s blistering 49-ball knock helped England dig themselves out of an early hole. Australia threatened to score 179 to win the series, but a composed Curran stopped them, and the defending T20 World Cup champions were constantly questioned about a bad batting order. The final episode of the series will air on Friday at the same location.

Malan was the casualty as England sought flexibility and promoted a slew of big-hitters up the order after Jos Buttler and Alex Hales’ record century opening stand in Perth.

This indicated that the graceful left-handed batter moved down to No.7 and only had to deal with two deaths. Malan, on the other hand, returned to his usual No. 1 position against a full-strength Australia attack under lights on a seaming Manuka Oval pitch. 3 slot and saved England’s 54-for-4 start.

Malan demonstrated once more that he is well-suited to the faster conditions of Australia by combining his signature beautiful cover drives with more aggressive strokes. Moeen Ali, who was saved early by a rare drop from Glenn Maxwell at the backward point, gave him a lot of support. With a quick partnership of 92 runs with Malan, he made Australia pay with 44 runs off 27 deliveries.

Malan put his foot down after Moeen left in the 17th over to lead England to a competitive total and show what might be in store for the 35-year-old at the T20 World Cup. Starc sat back, while Stoinis stole the show. Their star bowlers returned after missing the long trip to Perth, but Australia tinkered with spearhead Mitchell Starc, who did not open the T20I for the first time since 2014.

It appeared to be paying off, as all-rounder Marcus Stoinis continued his strong start to the series by removing Hales shortly after. In the fourth over, Pat Cummins took the major wicket of Buttler. 

In the sixth over, Starc finally entered the attack, but Malan immediately launched a freewheeling counterattack.The left-armer and his fellow star quicks gave up runs, but Australia got strong help from Stoinis, who got three wickets for the first time in his T20I career, and Adam Zampa, a reliable leg spinner, slowed England down in the middle overs.

However, a sloppy fielding display resulted in several missed catches for them

After recently shifting away from his usual opening role, Aaron Finch returned to the top, but it failed to solve Australia’s batting problems, with the skipper being run out to mid-off for 13.

Maxwell, who had been rested for game one, had a golden chance to break out of a long slump when he entered the game at 22 for 2 after David Warner’s wicket.

However, Maxwell has scored only 16 runs in his last six T20I innings after failing to get going once more and being caught for just eight. The competition for spots is intense with Steve Smith in the wings after failing to make the lineup this series. Big men Mitchell Marsh and Tim David appeared to be in great shape, but they couldn’t keep Australia in the game long enough to win.

Curran does it again England’s attack appeared vulnerable without speedster Mark Wood, who ignited game one with rapid bowling and a three-wicket haul. This was made worse by Chris Jordan’s struggles on his return from injury.

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Curran does it again

Curran was under a lot of pressure, and he delivered with the wickets of Maxwell and Stoinis in the middle of the innings. He maintained his composure when he returned in the 18th over to snag the crucial wicket of David, who was on the verge of flipping the match on its head, much like his clutch death bowling in Perth. The 24-year-old, who is getting ready for a big T20 World Cup, put on another strong performance.