Ashes 1st Test: Pat Cummins heroics help Australia led the Ashes 1-0 after a 2-wicket win in Edgbaston
The Ashes 1st Test: At Edgbaston, it was exhilaration for Australia and despair for England after five days of top-notch Test cricket.
Ben Stokes’ England lost to a tenacious Australian team in the opening test of the highly anticipated Ashes 2023 on Tuesday, proudly backing the “Bazball” method of playing the longest version of the game. Australia overpowered the hosts.
When England caught Australia down 209/7 while attempting to reach a target of 281, they appeared to be winning. And when Australia reached 227/8, it seemed that the hosts were safe at home and in the clear.
However, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon then somehow guided Australia to victory. Lyon had a score of 16 off 28 while Cummins was undefeated at 44 off 73, and the two combined for the ninth wicket to score 55 runs off 72 balls.
Australia regiseter BIGGEST victory in 70 years!
Australia’s successful target chase against England in Birmingham was their fourth-highest in the Ashes and their biggest since they successfully chased down 404 at Headingley back in 1948. Between 1949 and 2022, when the fourth-innings goal was 250 or more, Australia had lost 18 of the 31 Ashes Test matches.
Additionally, before Australia achieved it at Edgbaston, the previous time they chased down a target of 250+ runs was against South Africa in 2011. In Johannesburg, Pat Cummins, making his debut, similarly to Tuesday against Ollie Robinson, hit a boundary off Imran Tahir to score the winning runs. Between 2011 and 2022, Australia lost 19 of the 21 Tests where the aim was 250 runs or more.
Cummins and Co. outclassed the hosts in the 1st Test of the high-profile Ashes 2023
Batting Australia to a thrilling win, pace ace Cummins played a match-winning knock to help the visitors register a 2-wicket win over England. Cummins, who bagged four wickets in the 2nd innings for the Baggy Greens, remained unbeaten on 44 to seal Australia’s famous win at Edgbaston.
The star pacer scored the winning runs for the newly crowned ICC World Test Championship (WTC) winners to spark wild celebrations at the Aussie camp.
The Aussie captain stitched a match-altering partnership of 55 with Lyon (16*) for the ninth wicket at Edgbaston. “One of the beauties of this series is the totally contrasting styles,” Cummins said after the match. “We both played to our strengths. You don’t necessarily know which style is better but it makes for good entertainment,” the Australian skipper added.
I was absolutely s***ing myself: Usman Khawaja after receiving the PoTM award
While Cummins played the role of a finisher with the bat, opener Usman Khawaja top-scored for the visitors in both innings to win the Player of the Match award.
He scored 141 off 321 and 65 off 197, two gritty innings, batted practically every day of this Test.
“Not going to lie, I was absolutely s***ing myself for the last five minutes there. It’s so heart-wrenching. An unbelievable game. I watched 2005, stayed up late. We had Stokesy play an unbelievable innings last Ashes, but this is definitely one of my favourite Test matches. I was watching it in the changing room on a delay, I had to stay there. [Personal contribution] It’s right up there, an Ashes, I’ve had some hard times here. The ebb and flow, no one had the game until the end. One of my favourite Tests. Tough work [on previous[ tours but nice to get off to a good start on this one. Four more Ashes Tests left.”
Said the Aussie opener after receiving the PoTM award
Also read: The Ashes: Check out the reason why England spinner Moeen Ali was fined 25 per cent of match fee
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