Josh Inglis’ Record Breaking Century Seals Australia’s Series Win 2-0 Over Scotland
Josh Inglis Smashes 43-Ball Century as Australia Clinches T20I Series Against Scotland
Josh Inglis’ explosive 43-ball century in the second Twenty20 International at Edinburgh gave Australia a convincing series win over Scotland. Australia amassed a daunting 196 thanks to a brilliant innings by Inglis, which Scotland was unable to match as they were bowled out for 126. The visitors won by 70 runs thanks to the combined efforts of Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis, who took 6 wickets for just 39 runs.
Key Performances and Match Results
Australia 196 for 4 (Inglis 103, Green 36, Currie 3-37)
Scotland 126 (McMullen 59, Stoinis 4-23, Green 2-16)
Australia won by 70 runs.
Match Analysis
Josh Inglis became the fastest Australian batter to reach a hundred runs in a Twenty20 International, striking the ball with incredible fluency in a situation where other batters from both sides were struggling to find their timing. He reached the milestone in 43 balls, finishing with 103 off 49, surpassing the previous record, which was shared by himself, Aaron Finch, and Glenn Maxwell, by four balls.
In context, the remaining six players in Australia scored 89 runs off 73 balls apiece. In addition to helping Australia build an unstoppable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, his innings set the stage for Australia’s 70-run victory over Scotland.
Australia scored 197 runs to even the score after being humiliated in the opening series game on Wednesday. Even though Brandon McMullen scored 59 runs off of 42 balls at one point in the chase, the home team was never able to match the asking rate. Australia’s seamers made excellent use of their height advantage, bowling firm lengths and drawing every bit of assistance they could from the surface, which was occasionally two-paced and offered some seam movement.
While Scotland occasionally scored quickly, Australia continued to take regular wickets by bowling into the pitch and forcing errors from the opposition. In the first over, George Munsey whipped Xavier Bartlett for two leg-side sixes, and McMullen used his feet against the quicks to hit four sixes, the best of which was a front-foot pull over wide long-on off Aaron Hardie.
The match was virtually over when Sean Abbott used this strategy to break McMullen’s surge in the thirteenth over. From that point on, it was all over quickly for Scotland, who were bowled out for 126 in 16.4 overs after losing their final six wickets for only 20 runs.
Australia’s batting performance didn’t improve much without Inglis. After failing to score on his T20I debut on Wednesday, Jake Fraser-McGurk struck four runs off the first ball of the match. However, his aim-for-the-grandstand approaches were unsuited for the conditions, especially against McMullen’s nibbly new-ball medium-pace, as he struggled to middle the ball and frequently failed to connect.
Travis Head, who had hammered Scotland for 80 off 25 in the opening Twenty20 International, was out for a first-ball duck after being bowled a peach of an inducker by left-arm quick Brad Currie. He fell for a run-a-ball sixteen. Of the five players in Scotland’s starting eleven who did not play on Wednesday, Currie was one.
Bowlers made up three of the new arrivals, and the redesigned assault kept making Australia’s batters who weren’t called Inglis fight for their runs. Marcus Stoinis concluded with an undefeated 20 off 20, while Cameron Green clawed his way to 36 off 29. In 5.4 overs, they would eventually exact their retribution with the ball, taking 6 for 39.
However, Inglis appeared to bat against a different attack and on a different pitch. By using his swift feet and hands, Inglis was able to discover the boundary more quickly than his teammates, who appeared to have no other options if they were not allowed to free their arms.
With his movements around the crease and his usage of the scoop and reverse-scoop, he masterfully maneuvered the field. He produced amazing bat-speed with his short-arm whips and pulls, even when the bowlers from Scotland attempted to cramp him by going short and into his body.
Nevertheless, when Chris Sole ended Inglis’ innings in the 19th over, Australia had only reached 179. Sole, who bowled just three overs and was only brought on in the eleventh over, was arguably Scotland’s finest bowler of the day. He was quicker than his teammates, which made his speed changes more effective.
Tim David’s cameo helped Australia reach nearly 200 in the end. He hit Brad Wheal’s first two deliveries of the last over for six, the second of which flew over the midwicket boundary and landed outside the ground.
