Australia vs England, 4th Test, Day 3 - As it happened...

Live Updates of the 4th Test, Day 3 - England vs Australia

Zee Media Bureau

================================================================ SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» ================================================================ Australia, 2nd Innings Over 8 || Score 30/0 After the fine performance on Day 3 by the Australian bowlers, when their openers came out to chase the target of 231 to win the fourth Test of the series, they batted sensibly and made sure they won't lose any wicket by the end of Day 3. Their openers added 30 runs in eight overs, as Rogers is playing on 18 and Warner is unbeaten on 12. It means now the hosts need 201 runs to win the Test match and to take the 4-0 lead in five match Ashes series. =================================================== England, 2nd Innings Over 61 || Score 179 England have lost their last five wickets within ten overs. And Australian offie Lyon played a crucial role in that. First, Johnson showed the pavilion way to Bairstow, who started scoring runs briskly. And then Lyon took three wickets in quick succession – SCJ Broad, KP Pietersen and TT Bresnan – to put the visitors on the back-foot. Out of these three wickets Broad and Bresnan didn't even manage to open their account. Whereas, Pietersen missed his half-century by just one run. And in the end Johnson trapped Panesar in front of the wicket to bundled out the visiting side on 179 in the second innings. Now Australia need 231 runs to seal the fourth match. MS Panesar lbw b Johnson 0 (6b) KP Pietersen c Harris b Lyon 49 (156m 90b) SCJ Broad c Clarke b Lyon 0 (4m 3b) TT Bresnan b Lyon 0 (14m 8b) JM Bairstow c Haddin b Johnson 21 (45m 28b) =================================================== Over 50 || Score 153/5 When the partnership between KP and Stokes started growing dangerously, the offie Lyon strikes once again. Stokes tried to clear the mid-off fielder but failed to connect it well and Smith took the catch. Stokes got out after scoring 19 runs. Bairstow walked in to bat after the fall of fifth English wicket. And he opened his account by launching Lyon for a six over long on. KP in the next over collected two boundaries of Siddle and moves to 39. Meanwhile, the visitors crossed the mark of 150 runs and with that the lead has also crossed the 200 mark. BA Stokes c Smith b Lyon 19 (55b) =================================================== Over 38 || Score 107/4 When England started their second innings, openers – Cook and Carberry – added first fifty runs within first 14 overs. Cook was the one among the two, who added runs briskly. But it was once again Johnson who gave Australia its first breakthrough by making Cook his first victim of the day. Cook got trapped in front on a reverse swing off Johnson after scoring 51 runs. Root came in the middle to join Carberry after the fall of first English wicket. But after adding 21 runs for the second wicket, Carberry was beaten by pace off Siddle and got out LBW. Double blow for the visitors.In the very next over Root got run-out on 15 and then after a gap of a delivery Lyon picked up his first wicket of the innings in the form of I Bell. Bell got out for a duck. Australia is back in the game. Pietersen and Stokes are at the crease for England at the moment and they have a lead of 158 runs. This match is wide open now and can turn any way. IR Bell c Johnson b Lyon 0 (1b ) JE Root run out 15 (24b) MA Carberry lbw b Siddle 12 (81b) AN Cook lbw b Johnson 51 (64b) =================================================== Australia, 1st Innings Over 82.2 || Score 204 In the morning of Day 3, when the last Australian pair came to resume their overnight score, they simply surprised the visitors by adding 40 more runs to their overnight total of 164 and took their score to 204 before Haddin got out off Anderson after playing a gutsy 65 run knock. Nathan Lyon also contributed well in the end and added 18 crucial runs. The hosts got out on 204 means England got a lead of 51 runs in the first innings. BJ Haddin c Bairstow b Anderson 65 (143m 68b ) =================================================== Melbourne: England strangled Australia`s batting to seize control of the fourth Ashes Test on a low-scoring second day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. The beleaguered tourists, with the Ashes already lost, boosted their chances of averting a 5-0 series clean sweep with a rare rewarding day in the field as they defended what had appeared to be a below-par first innings total of 255. But disciplined bowling and fielding stifled Australia`s scoring and with it the wickets tumbled to put the home side under pressure on a slow-paced MCG pitch. At the close, Australia were 164 for nine, trailing England by 91 runs with Brad Haddin on an unbeaten 43. England were restricted in their first innings by a hostile spell from Mitchell Johnson, but the Australians also laboured for runs with veteran opener Chris Rogers crawling to his third half-century of the series and wicketkeeper Haddin again defying England.