On a day that was cut short by rain, the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England was played at The Oval. The visitors were chasing a gigantic total of 384 runs to win the match, and by the end of the day on Sunday, the visitors had reached 135-0 without losing a wicket.
After the England fast bowling great Stuart Broad made the shocking revelation on Saturday that he was retiring after the match, they had him wait for his final wicket. However, he did not get it.
When play was called off due to rain at 2:41 pm (1341 GMT) on the fourth day of the match, Warner was not out on 58 and fellow left-hander Khawaja remained undefeated on 69.
Australia has to score an additional 249 runs in order to win the series 3-1 and claim their first Ashes campaign victory in England since 2001.
If Australia is successful in reaching that objective, it would be the eighth-highest fourth-innings total to win any Test and the second-highest in England, after Australia’s 404-3 at Headingley in 1948, when batting great Don Bradman produced an unbeaten 173 and Arthur Morris made 182.
It would also set a new record for the biggest successful fourth-innings chase in a test match at The Oval, which was previously held by England in 1902 when they chased down 263 runs against their fiercest opponents.
Bowler with a mix of speed and medium speed In the course of test cricket, Broad has dismissed Warner 17 times.
However, neither he nor the rest of England’s speed assault were able to get through before the rain forced the players to run off the field. The heavy rainfall that followed later on Sunday eliminated any possibility of the game being resumed later in the day.
Warner, who was not out at lunch at the age of 30, lofted an England veteran named James Anderson, who turned 41 on Sunday, straight back over the head of the paceman for a boundary that resounded loudly.
Two deliveries later, Anderson, who was having trouble producing swing, shook Warner up with an unintentional head high full-toss, also known as a beamer. The bowler apologized instantly as the ball raced away to the boundary for four runs.
Khawaja, who led the series in run scoring, reached the milestone of fifty runs when he edged Mark Wood, an express fast, for his sixth four in a total of 110 balls.
Warner, who had previously been having trouble scoring runs, then followed him up with a fifty off of 90 balls that included seven fours.
The openers had little trouble playing England’s fast bowlers, although off-spinner Moeen Ali turned a few of deliveries sharply on a stadium where he finished a test match against South Africa in 2017 with a hat trick.
There was also some turn for Joe Root, who sometimes bowls as a spinner, but it was not much of a comfort for England.
After landing in London 2-1 ahead in the five-match series, Australia already has the Ashes in its possession despite the fact that the series still has two more matches to play.
A heartfelt goodbye
Earlier on, a guard of honor was presented to Broad as he made his approach to the wicket for the last time. Despite this, England only gained six runs to their total as they went into the overnight session, which was 389-9.
With 602 wickets to his name, the seamer, who is 37 years old, is now the seventh most successful bowler in the annals of Test cricket.
“The thought of being able to bowl my last ball and face my last ball against Australia fills me with joy,” he added. “I’ve had a love affair with the Ashes my whole life, and the thought of being able to do either of those things against Australia fills me with joy.”
Broad, whose best score in a test is 169, was batting alongside Anderson, who has been his long-time bowling partner.
He faced the first over bowled by his teammate Mitchell Starc, who was also the paceman, and Broad hit a magnificent six off of Starc’s sixth ball.
Anderson, however, was given leg before wicket by off-spinner Todd Murphy on the fifth delivery of the second over, which resulted in England being bowled out for 395.