Ashes, 2nd Test: Australia sniff victory after Mitchell Starc-Scott Boland's heroics, leave England reeling at 134/6 in reply to 511

Australia began the third day of the second Ashes Test on 378/6 with the duo of Alex Carey and Michael Neser in the middle. The hosts were in a 44-run lead at that time and were expected to take it over the 100-run mark atleast. However, they  didn't havb a great start to the day as Michael Neser lost his wicket for 16 runs to Ben Stokes  in the opening few overs. Carey then tired to stitch up a  partnership  alongside Mitchell Starc.

The two looked to be in good touch and Carey even brought up his half-century soon after. But, he wasn't able to go much further and was sent back to the pavilion by Gus Atkinson for 63 runs. With Australia now relying on tail-enders to score, England looked to be in control and were expected to bundle out the Aussies quickly. However, after performing brilliantly with the ball, Starc went on to play a superb knock with the bat.

Starc's highly-important knock

He played some stunning shots and reached a valiant half-century as the hosts frustrated the opposing bowlers. Scott Boland also assisted him well and ensured that he didn't lose his wicket.Starc would eventually go on to score 77 runs before being dismissed by Brydon Carse as the Three Lions finally broke the 75-run stand. This partnership would massively help the Baggy Greens in crossing the 500-run mark as they ended up at 511 before being bowled out during the second session.

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In reply, England did have a smooth start thanks to the opening pair of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. However, the latter wouldn't be able to carry on for long and got dismissed for 15 runs by Boland. Then, Crawley and Ollie Pope looked to have  stabilized the side's innings with a decent 42-run stand, but both of them lost their wickets in the space of four overs. It was Neser who sent both of them back to the dugout as the visitors got restricted to 97/3.

England lose wickets for cheap

Things would get even better for the Aussies as Starc soon got rid of the in-form Joe Root for only 15 runs. Boland would then go on to dismiss Harry Brook a few overs later as England lost half of their batting order for just 123 runs. Jamie Smith continued his poor form in the series and got dismissed by Starc for four runs.

The duo of Stokes and Will Jacks would ensure that the visitors didn't lose any more wickets on the day and finished on 134/6, trailing the opposition by 43 runs. England may even be looking at an innings defeat at this stage and it will all depend on how the Australian bowlers will perform during the opening session of Day 4. It is safe to say that Steve Smith & Co. are currently the favourites to come out victorious in the second Test and take a strong 2-0 lead in the Ashes series.