4th ODI: McKay’s hat-trick goes in vain as England defeat Australia by 3 wickets

James Buttler played a gem of an innings under pressure as England defeated Australia by three wickets in the fourth ODI played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Saturday.

Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava

Cardiff: Jos Buttler played a gem of an innings under pressure as England defeated Australia by three wickets in the fourth ODI played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Saturday. Put in to bat first, Australia got off to a disastrous start as they lost the wicket of Aaron Finch off the first ball of the innings. After losing some quick wickets, it was George Bailey’s innings (87) that took Australia to a decent total of 227 runs. In reply, England top order was wrecked by McKay who dismissed Kevin Pietersen (5), Jonathan Trott (0) and Joe Root (0) off consecutive deliveries. Mckay became the fifth Australian bowler to claim a hat-trick in an ODI match. As England were wobbling at 8/3, Michael Carberry and skipper Eoin Morgan came to their rescue as they stitched a crucial 104-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Towards the end, England needed seven runs off the last over. Buttler, who is known to hit big strokes went for the kills and clobbered Mitchell Johnson for a six and a boundary for the winning runs. With one match remaining, England have levelled the five-match series 1-1.