On Tuesday, the first of five matches in the Ashes series, Australia won the first test by two wickets against England in a nail-biting finish to the contest.
The visitors were given a winning target of 281, and they started the fifth and rain-delayed day on 107 for three. However, when they tumbled to 227-8, their chances appeared to be extremely slim.
In the midst of a crescendo of stifling suspense, Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins scored 44 runs not out in a magnificent combination with Nathan Lyon to bring his team across the finish line.
A few quick scores:
J. Root 118 not out, J. Bairstow 78, and Z. Crawley 61; N. Lyon 4-149 contributed to England’s first innings total of 393-8 declared.
The first innings total for Australia was 386 (U. Khawaja 141, A. Carey 66, and T. Head 50; O. Robinson 3-55, and S. Broad 3-68)
England scored 273 runs in their second innings (P Cummins took 4-63, and N Lyon took 4-80).
U. Khawaja scored 65 runs for Australia in their second innings, while S. Broad took 3-64 wickets.
The end result was that Australia triumphed by two wickets.
Australia has a one-match lead in the five-match series.