 "ENG vs AUS: Archer, Wood changed the game in middle overs, says Jordan")
After registering a thrilling two-run victory against Australia in the first T20I, England pacer Chris Jordan on Saturday credited Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for swinging the game in the middle-overs.
Australia was chasing 163 and the side was placed comfortably at 124/1 with David Warner and Steve Smith holding fort. However, England staged a stunning comeback as the hosts took five wickets for just 24 runs. In the end, Australia suffered a two-run defeat.
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Archer finished with figures of 2/33 from his quota of four overs and he got the crucial wickets of David Warner and Aaron Finch. On the other hand, Wood got the wicket of Alex Carey to finish with figures of 1/31 from his four overs.
"The bowlers' performance, on the whole, was spot on. When Woody and Jof came on in that middle period, that's when it started to change for us. They started really coming hard at the Aussie batsmen and shifted momentum back in our favour," ESPNCricinfo quoted Jordan as saying.
"Over the last few years especially, a lot of the talk has been about the batting lineup and how phenomenal it is. But it was nice last night that the bowlers in a sense bailed the batters out," he added.
Jordan had bowled the penultimate over of the Australia innings and he conceded just four runs to allow Tom Curran to defend 15 runs in the final overs.
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The death over specialist Jordan conceded just 23 runs from his three overs.
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In the end, Curran managed to defend 15 in the final over to hand England a win in the first T20I.
"Tom Curran's final over was brilliant: he held his nerve and stayed as calm as possible in the situation, and executed the plans which were the most important thing," Jordan said.
With the win in the first T20I, England gained a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. The next T20I will be played on Sunday at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.