Usman Khawaja’s replacement in the Australian playing XI, Josh Inglis, has started off the pink-ball Test with an absolute stunner as he sends Ben Stokes packing with a direct hit. The English captain has been left amazed by the dismissal.
The Ashes begun with Australia taking the lead over their rivals England in Perth as they won the match by an 8-wicket margin following Travis Head and Mitchell Starc’s stunning performance.
After the early lead in the series they advanced off to Brisbane where they played with the pink-ball. Gabba marked one of Australia’s greatest wins as well as losses. The ground in hosting its first pink-ball Test.
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Ben Stokes bamboozled by direct hit from Josh Inglis
While England were regulating their innings with skipper Ben Stokes taking control alongside batter Joe Root. While the left-hander already struggled to score runs off Mitchell Starc, he was further left bamboozled when Josh Inglis produced an exceptional reflex throw.
The wicket keeper who did not have the gloves on fielded the ball in the inner ring, the England skipper was sent back by Joe Root who kept his eyes on the ball, Stokes failed to make it back right on time and Inglis aimed at one stump.
Inglis bamboozled all with his hit and the Aussies celebrated the wicket as it led to the collapse of the English batting order.
Joe Root scores maiden century on Australian soil
The England legend had never scored a century in the Australian soil despite his extensive record for England. He is not only England’s highest Test scorer but also the second highest run getter in the Test format.
He is only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar and also has more hundreds than any other Test batter except for Tendulkar. However, with 900+ runs in Australia he never scored a hundred before.
Joe Root batted till the end of the innings and amassed a fifty partnership with Jofra Archer for the final wicket. Root batted throughout the English innings and scored 135 at the time of writing.
Mitchell Starc picks another five wicket haul; goes past Indian spinner
Mitchell Starc picked another six wicket haul in the first innings of the Brisbane Test. This marks his third five wicket haul in three continuous games since the West Indies tour.
Starc already reached the landmark of 415 wickets with the dismissal of Harry Brook which made him the highest wicket-taker among left-handed seamers in red ball cricket.
He surpassed the former Pakistan great Wasim Akram and now with the wickets off Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse Starc has 418 Test wickets with which he surpassed former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh’s record.
He is now the 15th highest wicket taker in the Test format and is nearing Shaun Pollock’s record in Test history. Pollock had 421 wickets and with an innings remaining Starc can extend his tally past the former Protea legend.
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