RCB star Moeen Ali becomes first Muslim player to lead England in international cricket

England and Australia competed in the third and final T20I of the three-match series at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday. However, it was Moeen Ali and not Eoin Morgan, who came for the toss as the latter picked up a finger injury, which ruled him out of the contest. As a result, it became Moeen Ali's first game as captain at the international level in any form of the sport for England.

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RCB all-rounder Moeen Ali becomes first Muslim cricketer to captain England

In doing so, Moeen Ali became the first Muslim player to captain England in cricket. The same was pointed out by English broadcaster Piers Morgan on Twitter. Piers Morgan took to Twitter and congratulated Moeen Ali on becoming the England cricket team's first Muslim captain. He also lauded the RCB star's achievement and called him a great player and person altogether.

Small but significant piece of sporting history tonight.
Congrats to Moeen Ali on becoming the first Muslim to captain England at cricket. Great achievement by a classy player & guy. 👏 pic.twitter.com/WZzgy9Bbcc

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan)

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Moeen Ali would have liked to start his captaincy career with a win but it wasn't meant to be as England lost the game by 5 wickets. The hosts managed to post just 145 runs on the board in their 20 overs riding on the back of a fine half-century by Jonny Bairstow and a quick cameo of 29 by Joe Denly. 

In response, Australia got off to a flyer as they posted 70 in the first seven overs. Skipper Aaron Finch was the aggressor as he played some delightful shots. However, once spinner Adil Rashid was brought into the attack, the game changed on its head as he got rid of Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith in quick succession to leave the visitors reeling at 100/5. However, steady batting from Mitchell Marsh (39 off 36 balls) and Ashton Agar (16 off 13 balls) ensured that Australia crossed the line without further dents.

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Meanwhile, Moeen Ali is all set to play for RCB in the upcoming IPL 2020. The all-rounder is a crucial member of the RCB unit for the IPL 2020 and his performances will be key in determining how far the Bangalore-based franchise go into the tournament. The IPL 2020 is scheduled to start from September 19, with the final scheduled to be played on November 10.

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IMAGE COURTESY: ECB TWITTER