Australia Inches Closer to Ashes Glory as England Falls Short by 43 Runs

Monday, 3 July 2023, Bengaluru, India 

A dramatic end to the 5th day of the 2nd test between England and Australia in the latest Ashes series saw Australia take the series lead over England with a score of two to nil. The Aussies managed to keep a busy Ben Stokes away from their problems as they advance into the series with a 2-0 lead over England. With three more test matches to go in the series, a series decider is still on the table. 

Though England’s performance was marginal, we have to applaud the satisfying performance of Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes. Duckett’s innings of 98 and Stokes’ innings of 155 was just enough for England to register their first win in the series, only for Josh Hazlewood to take out Stokes at a crucial time. Nevertheless, Australia rejuvenated as they kept England at bay and made a bold move in the series by winning two out of two matches. 

Stokes’ heroic innings of 155 runs was more than enough to give England new hope in a losing match. Day 5 couldn’t get any more dramatic, with Stokes hitting a 155 and people witnessing a controversial runout of Jonny Bairstow. While the game was still not decided, Stokes stepped and made it look easy for England, only to miscue a shot and get caught in the process. Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey made no mistake and caught the ball. After Stokes’ dismissal, England’s hopes were back to zero, and they eventually fell for 327 in chase of 371. 

Jonny Bairstow was another figure that caught the attention of the Lord. Alongside a strong Stokes, there was an optimistic Jonny who was hitting the boundaries off Hazlewood and Cummins. Jonny didn’t stay on the pitch for long to do recurring damage to the Australian bowlers. While interesting, England’s wicketkeeper’s dismissal was quite controversial. Jonny ducks under a short, leaving his crease and Carey makes the most of this scene by flipping off the bails. After protests from the England bench, the decision was in favor of Australia. The third umpire adjudged Bairstow out, leading to an angry response from the players and crowd.

Even though Australia hadn’t put up a compelling performance while batting, they managed to get away with this one because of Australian bowlers creeping on every England batsman, Australia was done at 279 in their second innings after putting in a colossal performance of 416 runs in the first innings. England was positive in the second innings and had a chance for them to compete equally, but the Australian bowlers kept the England batsman at bay. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins made hell for the England batsman and troubled them with their pace and swing during the morning session. Both took three wickets during the second innings with an economy of 3.67 and 2.76. Josh also kept up with the two bowlers by taking three wickets only for an economy of 4.44. Josh’s time shone when he took the wickets of two continuous hitters, Ben Duckett, and Ben Stokes. 

The wicket of Stokes was a relief for the Aussies. After Duckett’s dismissal, Stokes took matters into his hands and started a rampage with Stuart Broad supporting him. Stokes hit three fours off one over and then smashed three consecutive sixes off Cameron Green. He quickly raced toward his 13th Test century. The support Broad gave Stokes was immense, both morally and physically. Hazlewood soon broke this partnership and England’s hope for a magical comeback. The series is yet to be decided as there are three more games to be played, with the third one taking place at Headingley, Leeds, from July 6th.

Suraj Verma

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