Ashes 1st Test: Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins restrict England to 273 (Day 4, Tea)

Birmingham [UK], June 19 : Australia's experienced spinner Nathan Lyon and pacer Pat Cumm put up a show in the second session of Day 4 in the first Test match of Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston.
England ended their second innings with a score of 273, with Cummins picking up the final wicket, Australia need to chase down a target of 281.
It was Lyon and Cummins who kept England on the edge for the majority of the session. With Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow on the pitch, England went on with their usual style of play.
But Lyon with his experience managed to halt their progress as he dismissed Bairstow following an LBW for a score of 20(39).
Stokes soon followed the footsteps of Bairstow two overs later as he ended up losing his wicket to Cummins. In the battle of skipper against skipper, Cummins emerged victorious as he trapped Stokes right in front of the wicket. The English skipper went for a review with height factor as the only thing that could have saved his wicket. But fortune favoured Australia and Stokes went back with a knock of 43(66).
Even after going down to 7 wickets, England didn't succumb to the situation and went on with their style of play. Moeen Ali was next in line to lose his wicket. Josh Hazlewood came into the attack, he set up the field which indicated his thought process of bowling a short ball. His plan worked perfectly as Moeen tried to play a pull shot but the ball gently brushed off his glove and landed in the gloves of Carey.
Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad showed some fight and managed to keep their partnership alive for seven overs. But they couldn't survive Lyon's fierce spin bowling attack, Robinson lost his wicket against the spinner for a score of 27(44).
Stuart Broad and James Anderson tried to stitch up a partnership for the final wicket stand. They survived for the next five overs but, Cummins came in to put an end to their partnership. He dismissed Andrson for a score of 12(14).
Earlier in the day, England tried to bounce back with Joe Root taking the charge with the bat. He opened his account with a beautiful flick towards the mid-wicket area to find the boundary for a four off Boland.
On the next delivery, he went for a reverse scoop to help the ball get past the fence for a six. Once again Root made his intentions clear as he executed a reverse scoop to find the third consecutive boundary in the second over of the day.
In the first 20 minutes of the day, both Root and Ollie Pope played Bazball in its purest form. But Cummins got Australia back into the match as he ripped Pope's defence apart with an inswinging yorker and sent the bails flying off the stumps. Pope departed with a score of 14(16).
Even after Pope's departure, Root went on with his aggressive approach to get runs on the board at a brisk pace. But Nathan Lyon's arrival in the attack after drinks changed the complexion of the entire game. Root came out to play a big sweep but ended up missing the ball completely. Alex Carey had a simple task to take the bails off the stumps.
Root walked back to the pavilion for a score of 46(55). After this wicket, it was clear that this day will be fought between Lyon and the Bazball.
In the first session, the veteran Australian spinner emerged victorious as he dismissed Root's partner in crime Harry Brook. There was a small buildup before Brook's dismissal as a couple of dot balls added a certain amount of pressure on England's batter. He tried to release the tension with an unexpected pull shot for a ball which was too low for such a shot. Still, he didn't hold back and executed the shot but it went straight into the hands of Marnus Labuschagne. Lyon got the second wicket of the game for a score of 46(52).
Before the end of the first session, Jonny Bairstow had a moment of scare as Boland's appeal for an LBW. The on-field umpire declared him out but he went on to challenge the decision with a review. In the DRS it became evident that the ball went missing the stumps.
England ended up with a score of 155/5 in 37 overs.
Brief Scores: England 393/8 d & 273 (Joe Root 46(55), Harry Brook 46(52) and Pat Cummins 4/63) vs Australia 386 (Usman Khawaja 141; Alex Carey 66; Ollie Robinson 3-55).