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Australia have gained the control once again in the fourth Ashes Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) thanks to another ton from returning Usman Khawaja. His unbeaten 101 in the second innings has given a tough task to England on Day 5 as they chase a solid total of 388.
At Stumps on Day 4, the English openers had no hesitation in front of the new ball after ending the day's play at 30/0, with Zak Crawley (22) and Haseeb Hameed (8) batting.
Australia wrap the tail early
After ending Day 3 at 258/6, England's tail was no match to the devastating pace attack of Australia as the English batters could only add 36 more to the total before ending their first innings on 294. Overnight centurion, Jonny Bairstow added 10 more runs to his total before Australia's Scott Boland got the better of him on 113.
Jos Butler went without troubling the scorers as he injured his index finger and didn't take the field in the second innings. Ollie Pope played as a wicketkeeper in place of Buttler. Mark Wood (39) showed little resistance before they were wrapped up below 300.
Boland once again was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets; he was nicely supported by skipper Pat Cummins (2 wickets) and off-spinner Nathan Lyon (2 wickets).
Khawaja does it again
Khawaja has been enjoying his return to the International fold brilliantly as he scored yet another ton. The Pakistan-born batter followed his 137-run knock in the first innings with 101 unbeaten in the second innings. This was his third hundred against England at the SCG in just two matches. He, alongside Cameron Green (74) put together a 179-run stand for the fifth wicket to take the Aussies in a commanding position. With less than an hour remaining, captain Cummins declared at 265/6, setting a target of 388 for the visitors.
England make slow start
With new ball in hand, Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc was poised to strike early, but the English batters were determined not to throw their wickets away. In 11 overs of play, both Crawley and Hameed batted sensibly to lead England unhurt at the end of the day's play. With still need 358 more runs to win, a result surely can not be ruled out in the penultimate Test.
However, with injuries to Butler and Bairstow, a draw could be the best possible outcome for Joe Root's men as they try to avoid a whitewash in the Ashes Test series.
