In the inaugural Test of the Ashes 2023 series, Australia emerged victorious by two wickets against England in a thrilling match at the Edgbaston cricket ground. The match was suspended on the fifth day due to rain, and the visitors needed 174 more runs to win. The English cricket team had an advantage after the rain delayed the fifth day’s play as chasing over 150 runs in England on the last day of a Test match is never easy.
Aussie batsmen Usman Khawaja and Scott Boland started Day 5 from where they left on the fourth day, and they added 32 runs off 71 balls for the fourth wicket. The English bowlers drew first blood on Day 5, catching Scott Boland behind off the bowling of Stuart Broad for a score of 20 runs off 40 balls. The English bowlers kept on building pressure on the Aussie batsmen, and Usman Khawaja was the only one able to stay at the crease, scoring 65 runs off 197 balls.
Travis Head (16) and Cameron Green (28) were dismissed by Moeen Ali and Ollie Robinson. Alex Carey (20) was Australia’s last recognised batsman, who gave away his wicket to part-time spinner Joe Root. At one stage, Australia were 227/8 and still needed 54 runs with just two wickets in hand. Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins were the two batsmen present at the crease who are only known for their bowling. England were the favourites to win the match as they just needed two wickets to rip off the Aussie innings in the last hour.
However, Pat Cummins played a knock of 44 runs off 78 balls and also added 55 runs off 72 deliveries for the ninth wicket, along with Nathan Lyon. The partnership led Australia to grab a historic win in the first Test of the Ashes 2023 series by two wickets. The fans present at the Edgbaston cricket ground went berserk with joy following the team’s win.
In the end, it was a thrilling match between the two cricketing giants with both teams fighting hard to seize the victory. Australia’s resilience and determination on a difficult fifth-day pitch earned them a historic win in the Ashes 2023 series.
