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New Delhi: Australia defeated England by 82 runs to take a 3-0 lead in the five-match Ashes Test series, retaining the urn at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, December 21. The Aussies took just 11 days to clinch the Ashes crown, retaining the series for the fourth consecutive time.
Chasing a 435-run target, England battled bravely in the second session, bundled out for 352, with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins taking three wickets each. On Sunday, Jamie Smith’s wicket proved to be the turning point for the visitors, who had earlier frustrated the Aussies with high-quality batting.
Smith batted for nearly 50 overs along with Will Jacks, briefly reviving England’s hopes of staying alive in the five-match series. But those hopes vanished quickly when the young wicketkeeper batter tried to attack Mitchell Starc by playing a rash shot against the new ball.
Looking in solid control until that moment, Smith tried to smash his third consecutive boundary, but only managed to top-edge the ball, and Cummins took a good catch at midwicket. Once England slipped to seven wickets, the result felt inevitable. After that, it was only a matter of time before the visitors lost both the Test match and the series.
Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Starc helped Australia set up the victory in the third Ashes Test. Carey notched up 106 runs off 143 balls, while Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Starc also scored fifties, helping the hosts to recover from 94/4 to post 371 runs in the first innings. Archer claimed a five-wicket haul, while Carse and Jacks also picked up two wickets each.
The visitors got off to a disastrous start and lost four wickets on 71 runs. After early setbacks, Ben Stokes forged a 106-run partnership for the 9th wicket with Archer. The England captain scored 83 runs off 198 balls, and Archer also amassed 51 in the first innings, helping them to reduce the deficit to double digits.
Australia were 149/4 at one stage in their second innings before Head smashed 170 runs off 219 balls, and Carey also scored 72 runs off 128 balls to help the side post 349, setting England a daunting target. Despite Zak Crawley's 85, England lacked big partnerships in the chase and ended Day 4 at 207/6. Smith, Carse and Jacks showed some late fight on the final day, but the visitors ended up short.
