Ashes 2nd Test: Australia register eight-wicket win after an all-round show in Brisbane against England

Brisbane [Australia], December 7 (ANI): A dominating show by Australia as the hosts registered an easy eight-wicket win over England on Day 4 in the second Ashes Test at The Gabba on Sunday. With this win, Australia took a 2-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Ashes Test series against the Three Lions.

Australia chase down the target of 65 runs in just 10 overs with stand-in captain Steve Smith (23*) and opener Jake Weatherald (17*) remaining unbeaten. Australia resumed the third session of Day 4 from 33/0 in 5 overs with openers Travis Head (19) and Jake Weatherald (10) on strike while chasing 65 runs.

England speedster Gus Atkinson clean bowled Head in the very first over after resumption. The Australian departed after scoring a run-a-ball 22. Atkinson got his second wicket after wicketkeeper Jamie Smith caught Marnus Labuschagne. Australian batter Marnus scored three runs.

Stand-in captain Steve Smith, who joined Jake Weatherald, played countering attacking cricket against the England bowlers. Smith slammed 15 runs against pacer Jofra Archer, before smashing 10 runs against Atkinson as Australia chased down the target with eight wickets in hand.

Coming to the match, England posted 334 runs on the board in the first innings. Root slammed his maiden hundred on Australian soil, reaching the milestone in 181 deliveries on Day 1 of the second Test in Brisbane. Overall, it was Root's 40th hundred in Test cricket.

The former England captain Root took 30 innings to reach his maiden hundred in Australia. The right-handed batter became the second English player, after Maurice Leyland, to score a century on the opening day of a Gabba Test. Overall, Root became the eighth batter to hit a Test hundred for England at the Gabba.

Root remained unbeaten on 138 runs off 206 deliveries, including 15 fours and one six, and guided England to score 334 in the first innings. Root's 138* run knock was also the highest individual score vs Australia in a day-night Test match. The England great surpassed Pakistan's Asad Shafiq's 137-run tally, which came in 2016 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

In response, Australia scored 511 runs in the first innings. Jake Weatherald (72), Marnus Labuschagne (65), Steve Smith (61), wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey (63), and Mitchell Starc (77) slammed half-centuries as hosts took a 177-run lead.

In the second innings of England, who were behind the 177-run deficit started aggressively. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett wipe off 48 runs from the deficit in just 7.3 overs. However, the Australian quicks soon found their rhythm as Scott Boland claimed the first wicket, trapping Ben Duckett (15).

The key breakthroughs came later with Michael Neser removing both Ollie Pope (26) and the set opener Zak Crawley (44). While the England batters continued to score at a good run rate, the Aussie quicks kept chipping away at regular intervals.

Jaimie Smith (4) was removed by Starc. Joe Root (15) and Harry Brook (15) fell to Starc and Scott Boland, respectively, marking a key turnaround in the momentum of England's innings. Captain Ben Stokes played a fighting knock of 50 runs as the visitors were bundled out for 241 runs, setting a 65-run target. Australia chased down the target easily and took a 2-0 lead.

Brief Scores: England 334 and 241 (Zak Crawley 76, Joe Root 138, Mitchell Starc 6/75) vs Australia 511 and 69/2 (Mitchell Starc 77, Jake Weatherlad 72; Brydon Carse 4/152). (ANI)

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