Australia's wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis was a man on a mission at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Against England, he remained unbeaten for a 86-ball 120 to lead Australia to a five-wicket win chasing a target of 352. As Australia pulled off the highest run chase at an ICC tournament, captain Steve Smith lauded Inglis and Alex Carey. He also joked about whether Yorkshire-born Inglis still has an England passport because he won't let the 29-year-old go anywhere.
"The two keepers have been batting beautifully, in great form, Josh didn't get out of second gear, shots all round the ground. I don't know if Josh still has an English passport, but he's not going anywhere!" Smith said in the post-match presentation.
Smith also praised Matt Short for setting up the game with his 63-run knock after he and Travis Head departed for single-digit scores. In addition, at one point, he feared that England may post a total around 400. He credited Marnus Labuschagne for slowing it down in the slog overs with the wickets of Ben Duckett and Brydon Carse.
"We would have bowled first regardless, given how wet it got in training. It slowed up in the first innings and we thought 350 was chaseable. Looked like they'd get 400 but we trusted each other's skills, took pace off at the right times, hit hard lengths, squeezed and controlled the back end. Marnus bowled nicely too and took a few wickets," said the Australian captain.
Inglis joins Ponting and Watson
Inglis' knock of 120 from 86 deliveries featured eight fours and six sixes. In the 48th over bowled by Mark Wood, he finished the run chase with a maximum. He became the third Australian batter after Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting to score a century in a successful run chase at Champions Trophy. Watson scored unbeaten 136 against England in 2009 edition. He scored an unbeaten 105 against New Zealand in the same edition as well. Ponting scored unbeaten 111 against England in 2009 season as well.
Inglis in elite wicketkeepers' list
Inglis also became the fifth wicketkeeper-batter to score a century in Champions Trophy history. Zimbabwe's Andy Flower (145), Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (134 not out), New Zealand's Tom Latham (118 not out) and South Africa's Ryan Rickelton (103) are the other wicketkeeper-batters on the list. For Australia, the highest score by a wicketkeeper in Champions Trophy belonged to Adam Gilchrist who scored 92 against West Indies in 2006.