Team Australia created history in Lahore. Beating their on-field rivals, team England, with a five-wicket win, Australia chased the highest chase in history at an ICC White-ball tournament. Josh Inglis, the night’s star, scored his first ODI century (120 not out in 86 balls) to help the team pull a 352-run chase. With this win, the team overtook the previous 345-run chase record by Pakistan against Sri Lanka at the 2023 World Cup.

Despite facing a few setbacks ahead of the Champions Trophy, in the face of injuries and withdrawals, Australia maintained a strong outing. Apart from Inglis’ stellar performance, Alex Carey (69) and Matthew Short’s (63) half-centuries and Glenn Maxwell’s boundaries in the second half paved the way towards the team’s victory.

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England’s Efforts In Vain

After winning the toss, the team led by Steve Smith put England to bat first. During the power play, pacer Ben Dwarshuis’ struck twice, removing opener Phil Salt in the second over, followed by dismissing wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.

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Left-arm opener Ben Duckett and Joe Root helped the team to gain back the momentum with a 158-run partnership. After completing the 41st half-century of his ODI career, Root, looking forward to his first ODI century in almost six years, was removed by an LBW for 68 (78) by Adam Zampa.

Afterwards, wickets kept falling; England’s captain Jos Buttler’s departure also came early. While Duckett continued to hit boundaries to score the first-ever 150-plus individual score in the Champions Trophy history. After 17 fours and three sixes, the 30-year-old’s innings came to an end in the 48th over at 165 by getting knocked out by Marnus Labuschagne. Lastly, with Jofra Archer’s 21 off 10 deliveries, England put up the highest ever total in Champions Trophy history on board—351/8.

Following this score, Australia faced the same trajectory as England, losing both Travis Head and Steve Smith in the power play. However, 29-year-old Matthew Short and Labuschagne revived the Aussies momentum with a 95-run partnership before Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone scalped two wickets during the middle overs, leaving Australia at 4-135.

Notably, the game changed completely after the arrival of Josh Ingis and Alex Carey. Inglis and Carey’s half-centuries came in swiftly, in 41 and 49 deliveries, respectively, helping Australia to make a staggering comeback. Poor fielding by England eventually led to a 146-run partnership by Carey and Inglis.

Even after knocking out Carey during the 42nd over, England bowlers were faced with back-to-back boundaries by Glenn Maxwell who remained not out scoring 32 off 15 balls. Lastly, Josh Inglis sealed the five-wicket victory for the Aussies with 120 runs off 86 balls.

On the other hand, England was yet again forced to face disappointment in white-ball cricket. The team now needs to win both the games against Afghanistan and South Africa to move ahead in the ICC event.