Australia vs England, 2nd Ashes Test, Day 3 Stats Review: Joe Root enters elite list, Mitchell Starc's milestone and other stats

Dawid Malan and captain Joe Root scored fifties yet again but England got bundled out for 236 runs thanks to four and three wicket-hauls freom Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon respectively. Root and Malan shared 138 runs partnership and tried to steady the England ship after early jitters. Skipper Joe Root scored 62 and Dawid Malan 80 but then wickets started to fall at regular intervals.

Ben Stokes fought hard for his 34 off 98 balls but didn’t get support from any other batter as Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler got out cheaply. Stokes eventually got bowled by all-rounder Cameron Green. Chris Woakes scored 24 as England got all for 236, giving Australia a lead of 237 runs. Mitchell Starc took his 50th wicket in Day/night Test matches as the hosts took complete control after the England innings.

David Warner got run-out for 13 in the second innings as Marcus Harris and Michael Neser remained not out on 21 runs and 2 runs respectively. With a lead of 282 runs, the hosts look well set to post a big score and set England a humongous target. With captain Steve Smith and in-form Travis Head and Alex Carey to follow, Australia will be looking to put more misery on England on Day 4. On the other hand, the visitors face the prospect of chasing a big total in the fourth innings.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from Australia vs England, 2^nd Ashes Test Day 3:

846 – Joe Root has scored 846 runs in the second innings of Tests in 2021, third-most for any batter in a calender year. India’s Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are ahead of him with 906 and 894 runs respectively in 2010.

9429 – Joe Root has 9429 Tests runs to his name, most among active batters in Tests.

32 – Mitchell Starc now has 32 scalps in Day/night Tests in Adelaide. His bowling partner Josh Hazlewood has 28 wickets to his name at the venue.

529 – England skipper Joe Root has scored 529 runs as captain in Tests in Australia. Only Archie MacLaren with 709 runs is ahead of him.

4 – David Warner got run-out fourth time in his Test career.

4 – Joe Root’s tally of 1606 Test runs is fourth most for a batter in a calendar year. Mohammed Yousuf (1788), Vivian Richards (1710) and Graeme Smith (1656) are above him for scoring those runs in 2006, 1976 and 2008 respectively.

50 – Mitchell Starc reached 50 Test wickets in Day/night Tests. He tops the list with his teammates Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon behind him with 32 wickets each.

1606 – With 1606 Test runs as skipper, Root is now second in the list for captains scoring most runs in a calendar year. Graeme Smith with 1656 runs tops the list which he scored in the year 2008.

37 – Root now has most 50-plus scores in Tests as England captain (37). He overtook Alastair Cook’s tally of 36 such scores.

262 – Mitchell Starc with 262 wickets is now pacer with sixth-most wickets for Australia in Tests. He surpassed Jason Gillespie’s tally of 259 scalps.

5008 – Joe Root reached 5000 runs for England in Tests at number four. With 5008 runs he is second behind Kevin Pietersen’s 6490 runs.

27 – Mitchell Starc equaled Brett Lee (27) for taking most four wicket-hauls for Australia in Tests.

17 – Joe Root now has most 50 plus scores (17) in WTC. Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne has 16 such scores and is on second.