Travis Head joins elite list after smashing 30 runs in one over against England in 1st T20I

Southampton [UK], September 12 (ANI): Star Australia opener Travis Head joined the elite list of Aussie batters after he smashed 30 runs in a single over in the first T20I match against England in Southampton.

Head became the fifth Aussie cricketer to score most runs in one T20I over.

Head slammed England’s Sam Curran for three fours and three 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 Three Lions as they were bowled out for just 151 while chasing the given target.

The 30 runs that Head managed against Curran tie an Australian men’s record for most runs from one T20I over, with the dashing left-hander joining the likes of Ricky Ponting, Daniel Christian, and Mitchell Marsh as compatriots to have matched the landmark.

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 T20 World Cup.

Head was at his brilliant best against England as he raced to 50 inside the powerplay of the first inning and combined well with fellow opener Matt Short (41) to put on 86 for the opening wicket in quick time.

It was the fourth time this year that Head has scored a half-century at T20I level and continued the form that has seen the left-hander rise to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Batter Rankings and claim the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

It looked like at one stage Australia were on track for a score in excess of 200, but Liam Livingstone (3/22) helped bring the visitors back late and restrict them to an achievable target.

Star Aussie 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 28-run triumph in the first T20I gave Australia a 1-0 lead over England in the three-match series ahead of the next contest in Cardiff on Friday.