T20 World Cup 2021 | England and Australia are joint second favourites at T20 WC, reckons Eoin Morgan

England have had a great start to T20 World Cup 2021, with dominant wins against the West Indies and Bangladesh in their first two matches. They put on a disciplined bowling effort against both the teams, as they bundled out the two-time champions for 55, and limited Bangladesh to 124/9 in their second match.

They will face arch-rivals Australia next - the same team they had defeated in the 2010 final - in Dubai on Friday, October 30. Skipper Eoin Morgan marked the Aaron Finch led side as the "joint second favourites" to win the tournament alongside, and looked forward to "one of the most difficult matches". 

"It's probably going to be one of our most difficult games," Morgan said on the eve of the clash. "Australia are a very strong side. Coming into the tournament, they would probably be considered joint-second favourites, along with us. They're a side that we know pretty well - we've played against them a lot over a number of years, so we are looking forward to a really good game.”

Australia meanwhile won their tournament opener against South Africa by five wickets in a last-over thriller, before outplaying Sri Lanka in a seven-wicket win in their second. Morgan reckoned that Australia will be present a stiff challenge, and that they are a difficult side to play when they are on top.

"You learn a hell of a lot about how they play their cricket, how disciplined they can be," Morgan said. When they get on top they can be a difficult side to play, when you try and wrestle momentum back.

“The challenge for us and them is that we're not playing at home so it's about trying to adapt our style of play. Early momentum in any game can go a long way to winning. But like we've witnessed over the last couple of years, if we don't manage to gain that momentum, I think we have guys that can either wrestle it back or counterpunch."

Tymal Mills was rewarded for his performances in the T20 Blast and the Hundred this season with a place in the World Cup squad. His selection came as a surprise for many, as he had played his last T20I in 2017. The left-armer returned 2/17 and 3/27 from his two outings, and the skipper has been mighty impressed with his comeback.

"The journey he's been on is one of the most challenging we've ever seen anybody who's played in an England shirt.Full credit to him, as you can see at the moment, he's bowling pretty well and is very effective for us,” Morgan said.