Twitter Reactions: Pat Cummins jolts England after yet another Steve Smith special

The equation: 98 overs | 365 runs | 8 wickets.

By CricTracker Staff verified

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Steve Smith
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Steve Smith. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

At the close of play on Day-4, it is Australia which is in a great position to win the game. The entire day was completely dominated by them despite the efforts from the England bowlers. Steve Smith, yet again, came to the rescue for the Kangaroos with a brilliant knock under pressure in testing conditions. With the ball, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc had a terrific time.

Mitchell Starc provided Australia with a terrific start to the day. He dismissed Jonny Bairstow with a beautiful inswinger followed by the wicket of Ben Stokes for 26. Furthermore, he also managed to get Stuart Broad later in the innings. The rest of the job was accomplished by Pat Cummins. He dismissed the dangerous-looking Jos Buttler for 41 apart from picking the wicket of Jofra Archer. Thus, England was bowled out for 301 runs. But they somehow managed to escape the follow-on.

Steve Smith plays a gritty, aggressive knock

Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer pegged Australia back early in the second innings. Broad dismissed David Warner for a duck once again and Marcus Harris for 6 runs. Archer, meanwhile, got the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head. With Australia at 44/4, England seemed to be over the top. However, the bowlers failed to breach the wall called Steve Smith.

For the first time in the series, the former Australian captain was tested early in his innings. But such is his quality that he managed to survive the difficult phase of play. Then, he shifted gears and got enough support from Matthew Wade that they added 105 runs together. Had it not been for the mistimed big hit, Steve Smith might have got to another century. But it wasn’t his day and he got out for 82 runs off 92 balls. Soon, Wade followed him to the pavilion after scoring 34.

Tim Paine played a brisk knock of 23 from 18 balls before he decided to declare at 186/6. With a massive lead of 382, Australia already had a significant advantage by then. Thus, it was a good idea to test the English openers in the final overs of the day. The plan worked out as Pat Cummins got rid of both Rory Burns and Joe Root for ducks. England finished with 18/2 in 7 overs and still needs 365 runs to win the game.

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