England beat Australia by six wickets in the second T20I on Sunday as opener Jos Buttler anchored the run chase to help the hosts win the three-match series.
Set a target of 158, Buttler remained unbeaten on 77 off 54 balls, which included eight boundaries and two sixes, as England crossed the finish line with seven balls to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
England lost opener Jonny Bairstow early when he hit his own stumps while trying to pull Mitchell Starc, but Buttler and Dawid Malan (42) kept the scoreboard ticking with an 87-run stand before Ashton Agar had Malan caught in the deep.
Tom Banton and Eoin Morgan fell cheaply, but all-rounder Moeen Ali came in and relieved the pressure with a six and a four off Adam Zampa in the penultimate over to change the equation. Buttler then smashed a six down the ground to seal the contest.
Earlier, Australia, after opting to bat, was restricted to 157 for seven. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood struck in their first overs to remove David Warner for a duck and Alex Carey for two. Steve Smith was run out for 10 off a direct hit from Morgan.
Aaron Finch (40) and Marcus Stoinis (35) stitched together a 49-run partnership while Glenn Maxwell scored a quickfire 26 off 18 balls to give the Aussies something to defend, but Buttler showed that it was not enough.
The scores: Australia 157 for seven in 20 overs (Finch 40, Stoinis 35, Jordan 2/40) lost to England 158 for four in 18.5 overs (Buttler 77 n.o., Malan 42, Agar 2/27).
Third T20I: Sept. 8 (Tuesday), 10.30 p.m.
