Gabba Test: Joe Root, Dawid Malan lead England fightback on day three

England captain Joe Root and Dawid Malan led a stunning comeback on Day 3 of the first Ashes Test, cutting Australia’s lead significantly. Root was unbeaten on 86 and Malan was unbeaten on 80 as the duo added 159 runs for the third wicket to take England to stumps on 220-2, trailing Australia’s first innings total of 425 by just 58 runs. After England’s openers fell early in their second innings, Root and Malan played positive cricket, soaking up the pressure. Australia would have looked to run through England’s batting order in the same way that they did, before Travis Head hit 152 to help Australia post 425 in the first innings.

England lost opener Rory Burns on 13 when Australia captain Pat Cummins struck in the ninth over of the game. Malan and Haseeb Hameed, on the other hand, took England to Lunch without any incident. Hameed looked compact once more, but he was caught down the leg-side for 27 by Mitchell Starc, who took the only wicket of the second session.

ROOT, MALAN SHINE

Root partnered with Malan, and the England captain was proactive from the start, making up for a missed opportunity in the first innings. Josh Hazelwood dismissed Root for 0 in the first innings as England collapsed for 147, but the star batter gave the Australian attack nothing on Day 3.

The Three Lions did not lose a wicket in the final session, as Malan and Root exploited an exhausted Australian attack. While Starc looked ordinary once more, off-spinner Nathan Lyon failed to strike despite bowling 24 overs.

Malan and Root both hit ten boundaries as the two England batters survived a tricky phase towards the Stumps. England will hope that both Root and Malan can contribute and give England a healthy lead, but anything less than 250 for Australia in the final innings could be difficult, given that the pitch at the Gabba only appears to be getting better for batting. England will be inspired by India’s fightback and breach of Australia’s fortress at the iconic venue earlier this year.

IMPORTANT LOWER-ORDER STANDS FOR HOSTS

Day three began with Australia on 343-7 and Head on 112, with the hosts adding 82 for the loss of three wickets. After England rallied midway through Day 2 with three wickets, including opener David Warner for 94, Head marshalled the lower order. The batter shared important partnerships of 70 with Cummins (12), 85 for the eighth wicket with Starc (35) and 29 for the ninth wicket with Nathan Lyon (15) on Day 3, to extend Australia’s innings and keep a tired England team in the field in humid conditions.

Starc spelled the first wicket of an extended morning session, hitting Chris Woakes directly to Burns to bring the total to 391-8. Woakes dropped a one-handed return catch with Australia on 395-8, and Lyon then hit a boundary off Ben Stokes in the next over to take the total to 400. Lyon was dismissed by Mark Wood with Head on 147 and Australia on 420, leaving No. 11 Josh Hazlewood to hang around long enough to assist his teammate in reaching 150. Head’s innings included 15 fours and four sixes, and he reached the milestone with a boundary against Jack Leach. It also pushed Leach’s run total to 100 runs conceded in 12.1 overs.