It proved to be another successful day for Australia as after being bundled out for 371 runs during the opening session of Day 2 in Adelaide, their bowlers put in a sensational performance. The trio of Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland proved to be very effective as England lost 8 of their wickets by the end of the second day and now head into Day 3, trailing the hosts by a massive margin.
Australia were 326/8 as the play resumed and had Mitchell Starc and Lyon present on the crease. The former looked to be in good touch and thus, ensured that he faced majority of the deliveries. Starc went on to play some fine shots and eventually brought up his second half-century of the series as the Baggy Greens got close to the 350-run mark. However, he failed to stay on the crease for long and was dismissed by Jofra Archer for 54 runs.
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A 23-run last-stitch partnership between Lyon and Boland soon followed, but Australia would eventually be bowled out for 371 runs as Archer got rid of the former during the first session. In reply, England needed to get a strong start from openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, but the returning Cummins had other ideas as he got rid of the former for nine runs and broke the 37-run stand.
Cummins and Lyon decimate England's top-order
Soon after, Lyon went on to bowl a fiery opening over, getting rid of both Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett as England went down to 42/3. Cummins would then come back to bowl another fine spell and this time, he got the wicket of Joe Root for a record 12th time in Test cricket as the in-form batter got dismissed for 19 runs Fortunately for England, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes stabilized the innings with a much-needed partnership.
The stand of 56 helped the visitors cross the 100-run mark, however Cameron Green got the much-needed breakthrough for the hosts. He dismissed Brook for 45 runs and restricted the Three Lions down to 127/5. Stokes then tried to form a big partnership alongside Jamie Smith, but failed to do so as Cummins dismissed the latter for 22 runs and completed his 3-fer.
England avoid being bundled out
Boland then joined the party and got the rid of both Will Jacks and Brydon Carse in short intervals as England went down to 168/8 and it looked as if the end was near for them. However, an unexpected partnership between Stokes and Archer helped them avoid being bowled out on Day 2. They wrapped up the day on 213/8 with Stokes unbeaten on 45 and Archer batting on 30. The Three Lions still trail Australia by 158 runs and will need nothing short of a miraculous batting display on Day 3 in order to take the lead.