T20 World Cup: England v Australia is meeting of 'joint second favourites' - Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan has said Saturday's Men's T20 World Cup match against Australia will be a meeting of the teams who sit behind India as "joint second favourites" for the title.

England have thrashed West Indies and Bangladesh, while Australia edged past South Africa before beating Sri Lanka.

"It's probably going to be one of our most difficult games," England captain Morgan said.

"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."

Morgan told BBC Sport before the tournament that he regarded India as "rightly" favourites to win.

Virat Kohli's side were hammered by rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets in their opening Group 2 game on Sunday.

• T20 World Cup - fixtures & results

Victory for either side on Saturday would see them take a big step towards qualifying for the semi-finals.

Fast bowler Mark Wood has missed both games so far because of an ankle injury, while seamer Tom Curran has also been unavailable because of a knee injury.

Morgan said both were unlikely to face Australia but added they were "progressing really well".

Left-arm fast bowler Tymal Mills took 2-17 against West Indies and 3-27 against Bangladesh, having regained his England pace after a long-standing back injury.

"The journey he's been on is one of the most challenging we've ever seen anybody who's played in an England shirt," said Morgan.

"Full credit to him, as you can see at the moment, he's bowling pretty well and is very effective for us."

Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins said there was a "great feeling" in the dressing room after a strong start that came despite the team playing very little cricket together during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that matches against England were "always huge" and that it would be "great to get one on the board" before this winter's Ashes in Australia, even if the Test and T20 sides feature many different players.

"England have been probably just about the form team the last few years in white ball cricket," he said.

"We know it's such a big game in the context of making the semi-finals, and we always enjoy coming up against England."