Australia vs England 2nd Test: Ashes series is turning out to be a one-sided affair

Australia defeated England by a commendable margin of 275 runs in Australia vs England 2nd Ashes (Pink-ball) Test at the Adelaide Oval to gain a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The Steve Smith-led side was dominant throughout the course of the game as they rattled out the Englishmen once again with ease.

The Kangaroos suffered a mighty blow just hours before the commencement of the second Test as their regular skipper Pat Cummins was ruled out after being deemed to have contacted a COVID-19 positive case. Cummins, who guided Australia to a nine-wicket victory with his brilliant captaincy and a five-wicket haul was replaced by debutant Michael Neser while Steve Smith was handed over the captaincy duties for the first time after the controversial sandpaper gate incident.

England had the perfect opportunity to level the series 1-1 as the hosts were missing their two leading pacers, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but failed to capitalize on that as Australia turned out to be too good for them. Australia rode on the back of a brilliant century by Marnus Labuschagne and nineties from David Warner and Steve Smith. Alex Carey, who also had a great outing by registering his maiden fifty in Test cricket was supported by cameos from Starc and Neser who guided Australia to a total of 473-9  in the first innings.

What followed Australia's innings was a disappointing performance by the English openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns who were dismissed cheaply on single-digit scores. Once again, the batting lineup was carried by skipper Joe Root and Dawid Malan who went on to score half-centuries. However, England suffered a major collapse as they bundled out from 150-2 to 236 all-out.

With a lead of 237 runs, Smith had a chance to enforce a follow-on but instead chose to bat. They went on to post 230-9 on the board to set a target of 438 runs courtesy of half-centuries from Labuschagne and Travis Head.

The Joe Root-led side had an uphill battle to chase the total and needed an extraordinary performance similar to what Stokes did in Headingley Test in 2019. However, they found themselves to 105-6 inside 60 overs before Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes started a blockathon. They went on to bat for more than 30 overs, but Jhye Richardson finally dismissed Woakes to open the gates for the hosts. England was then soon bundled out for 192 with Richardson claiming his maiden five-wicket haul to guide Australia to a comfortable victory.

It was an all-round display from Australia as multiple players stood up on occasion and delivered the goods. Labuschagne was adjudged the player of the match for his knocks of 103 and 51.

AUS vs ENG: Australia cricket team names unchanged squad for upcoming 3 Ashes Tests

Cricket Australia have named an unchanged squad for the upcoming three Ashes tests with skipper Cummins and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood all set to make their returns. Marcus Harris has been provided with another opportunity despite his mediocre runs in both Tests.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (C), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

Image: Twitter/CricketAus