Ben Stokes’ latest act of defiance and a spirited performance from England’s bowlers left everything up for grabs after three days of the third Ashes Test.
Just five days after scoring a brilliant 155 in a losing cause at Lord’s, Stokes once again dug deep to give his side hope with a muscular 80 at Headingley.
Despite batting through clear physical pain he pulled the trigger on five sixes and six boundaries, dragging England back from 87 for five to post 237 all out during a frantic afternoon session.
That kept the first-innings deficit to a manageable 26, with a dicey display from Australia’s top order leaving the tourists 116 for four at stumps for a lead of 142.
The England attack was depleted by two, with Stokes clearly unfit to bowl and Ollie Robinson reduced to a spectator’s role by back spasms, but showed huge heart to keep the game, and the series, alive.
Stuart Broad continued his long-time hex over David Warner, Moeen Ali prised mistakes out of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to reach 200 career scalps and Chris Woakes chimed in with the wicket of Usman Khawaja.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins had earlier claimed his best figures in Ashes cricket, brushing off the the boos that have followed him since last week’s stumping controversy to claim six for 91.
There was a sense of expectation in the air at the start of the day, with England vulnerable on 68 for three but two local heroes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, unbeaten overnight.
With Bairstow bearing a grudge following the divisive stumping that sparked fury at Lord’s and both men eager to make up for dropped catches on day two, the stage was set for the pair.
Instead, they barely left a dent. Root nicked the second ball of the morning to slip, too eager to play at Cummins with no width available, and Bairstow was not far behind. Tempted to drive away from his body as Mitchell Starc slanted it towards the cordon, he saw his revenge mission fall flat.
Stokes was fighting through the pain barrier to keep the contest alive, moving awkwardly as fresh niggles added to his existing knee problems.
He admitted at the pre-match press conference that his century on Sunday took “quite a bit out of me” and the evidence was there for all to see. His movements were stiff and uncomfortable and there were plenty of grimaces, but he stuck to the task during a careful stand of 44 with Moeen.
Cummins finally drew the latter into a careless hook and Woakes was also undone by the short ball, leaving England under-powered on 142 for seven at lunch. A switch was flipped during the interval and the adrenaline flew during the next 10.2 overs, during which they piled on 95 runs and lost their last three wickets as the game romped along.
Mark Wood got the show on the road, launching Starc for six over midwicket off the first ball of the session. The second was slashed for four, the third for six more and when he top-edged Cummins over fine-leg he had 24 off just six deliveries.
That was where his fun stopped, chipping straight up in the air looking for more of the same, but the tone was set. Starc dropped Stokes on 45, unable to hold on low after making good ground, and it was Starc himself who paid the price as Stokes guided him for three successive boundaries to pass 50.
An outstanding boundary catch from Smith saw Broad become Cummins’ sixth victim, but the emergence of Robinson at number 11 merely raised Stokes’ temperature.
He blitzed Australia’s stand-in spinner Todd Murphy for five sixes in 14 balls – three back down the ground, one swept behind square and another picked up from outside off into the leg-side. He holed out going for another big hit, Murphy going flatter and wider.
Despite being down on numbers, England’s bowling unit needed to front up again and it was Broad who got them on the board in his second over.
Plowing a familiar furrow against the left-handed Warner, he earned an equally familiar edge to slip. For the 17th time in this longstanding duel, and the second time in as many days, Broad had won the head-to-head.
A stand of 55 between Khawaja (43) and Labuschagne (33) threatened to drag the game away from a tiring England. When Labuschagne gloved Wood down leg and Bairstow dropped the catch – his eighth miss of a chastening series – it looked a killer blow.
Remarkably, though, Labuschagne slogged Moeen to deep midwicket off his very next ball and Smith followed close behind. His trademark concentration deserted him after a few short moments, flicking the spinner nonchalantly but straight to the waiting Ben Duckett.
When Woakes snapped up Khawaja’s outside edge – and Bairstow managed to hold on – it left things finely poised with day one centurion Mitchell Marsh (17no) and Travis Head (18no) at the crease.
Sunil Narine's plunders 81 to propel Kolkata Knight Riders to emphatic victory over Pooran's Lucknow Super Giants
In a sensational display of power hitting, Sunil Narine spearheaded Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a commanding victory over Nicholas Pooran's Lucknow Super Giants and a place atop of the IPL table with a stunning knock of 81 runs off just 39 deliveries.
Alongside Narine, contributions from Ramandeep Singh (25 off 6 balls), Phil Salt (32), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32), and Shreyas Iyer ensured that KKR posted an imposing total of 235 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs.
The match, held at one of the lower-scoring venues in IPL 2024, set the stage for a challenging run chase for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Despite a 50-run partnership between KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis, LSG struggled to accelerate the scoring rate, ultimately succumbing to the pressure imposed by KKR's bowlers.
Andre Russell emerged as a pivotal figure in the match, not only with his powerful batting but also with his crucial contributions with the ball. Russell's bowling spell saw him claim the crucial wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran, swinging the match heavily in KKR's favor.
As LSG's innings faltered, the required run rate soared out of control, with the last nine wickets falling for just 67 runs. Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana were instrumental in dismantling LSG's batting lineup, each claiming three wickets.
Narine's explosive batting display in the initial overs set the tone for KKR's commanding total. After Salt's aggressive start, Narine took centre stage, unleashing a barrage of boundaries and sixes. His innings featured a total of seven sixes and six fours, demonstrating his ability to accelerate the scoring rate at will.
Despite eventually being dismissed while attempting another big hit, Narine's contribution laid the foundation for KKR's comprehensive victory. The match also witnessed standout performances from Ramandeep Singh, whose quick-fire innings added crucial runs to KKR's total, putting LSG under immense pressure.
With this convincing win, Kolkata Knight Riders continue to demonstrate their formidable form in IPL 2024, buoyed by standout performances from key players like Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, signaling their intent as serious contenders in the tournament.
IPL: Jadeja stars as CSK move into playoff places
Chennai Super Kings moved into the Indian Premier League playoff places after beating Punjab Kings by 28 runs in Dharamshala.
The reigning champions avenged their seven-wicket defeat by the Kings in Chennai four days earlier to climb to third place in the table with three games remaining.
After a slow start, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell's partnership brought 57 runs and settled CSK into their stride. Although MS Dhoni went for a duck, Ravindra Jadeja's late surge of 43 from 26 balls saw them close at 167-9.
Tushar Deshpande claimed Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw in the second over to stem the Kings' early momentum, while Jadeja (3-20) also took a quickfire double of Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma in the 13th over as the hosts finished well short of their target at 139-9.
Data debrief
In getting back to winning ways, CSK ended their five-game losing streak against the Kings, stretching back to 2021.
Despite going for a duck, Dhoni managed to make amends in the field. When he caught out Jitesh Sharma, he became the first player in IPL history to take 150 catches.
IPL: Du Plessis shines as RCB revival continues against Titans
A rapid 64 from captain Faf du Plessis helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a third consecutive Indian Premier League win as they again saw off Gujarat Titans.
RCB comfortably defeated the Titans in an away game six days ago and then comprehensively saw off Shubman Gill’s side once more on Saturday, this time at home.
After the Titans were bowled out for 147, RCB raced to a four-wicket victory with 38 balls to spare to move off the bottom of the IPL table, jumping up to seventh after overcoming a brief scare towards the end of their chase.
Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak took two wickets apiece as the Titans struggled batting first, falling to 19-3 midway through the sixth over. They needed Shahrukh Khan (37), Rahul Tewatia (35) and David Miller (30) to post some kind of total, with Tewatia passing 1,000 career IPL runs.
Any faint hopes of halting RCB’s run of form were ended when Du Plessis fired 64 from just 23 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, ably supported by opening partner Virat Kohli (42).
A brief spell of chaos saw RCB fall from 92-0 to 117-6 with Josh Little taking 4-45, but Dinesh Karthik (21 not out) and Swapnil Singh (15no) steadied the ship and finished off the chase.
Data Debrief: Kohli regains Orange Cap
While Du Plessis top scored in this game, another good knock from Kohli, who hit four maximums, saw the India great regain possession of the Orange Cap. With 542 runs in IPL 2024, Kohli has a narrow lead over CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (509).
Kohli is averaging 67.75 and striking at 148.08, with four fifties and a century to his name from just 11 innings in a memorable campaign.
He has helped RCB recover from being beaten in seven of their first eight games, while the Titans, finalists in each of the last two editions, have now lost four of their last five.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
