The third Test of the Ashes series between Australia and England started in Adelaide from Wednesday. Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. Usman Khawaja has made a surprise entry in the playing eleven of Adelaide Test. Khawaja’s name was not in the previously announced playing eleven. Khawaja has got a place in the team in place of Steve Smith.

Steve Smith was out of the playing eleven just before the start of the Adelaide Test. According to the report, Smith was out just before the start of the match due to dizziness. Usman Khawaja got the benefit of Smith being out of the Adelaide Test. Khawaja, who was out of the playing eleven, made a surprise entry.

Usman Khawaja will turn 39 on Thursday. In such a situation, he has become the first player to play Test for Australia at the age of 39.

Khawaja did not get a chance to start the innings in the Adelaide Test. He has come to bat at number four. Australia did not have a good start in the Adelaide Test and the team lost the first 4 wickets for 94 runs. Khawaja took advantage of the opportunity and once again proved his usefulness by scoring an excellent half-century. Till the time of writing the report, Khawaja was playing after scoring 51 runs.

Khawaja’s name was not in the playing eleven of the team announced earlier for the Adelaide Test. Considering Khawaja’s age, it was believed that his career was coming to an end, but his sudden place in the team and his half-century have given a new lease of life to his career. On the basis of his half-century innings, Khawaja has at least secured his name for the remaining matches of the Ashes series.

PAK

The Ashes 2026: The Ashes series started with a bang, but for England this beginning was no less than a nightmare. On the very first day of the first Test being played in Perth, Australia’s fast bowler Mitchell Starc worked such magic that the entire England team got bundled out for just 172 runs. Starc not only took 7 wickets, but also completed his 100 wickets in the Ashes.

England’s condition is bad from the first over

After winning the toss, England captain Ben Stokes chose to bat, but the decision backfired. England’s wicket fell in the very first over and after that the English batsmen were seen struggling to stay on the crease.

The England team brought an aggressive style of baseball, but this strategy flopped miserably on Australia’s bouncy pitch. The ball was swinging. The bowlers were also getting a lot of bounce on the pitch. Even after this, in front of Starc’s speed, England’s batsmen continued making mistakes.

England’s condition worsens despite Brook’s fifty

Only Harry Brook was successful in scoring runs for England. He scored 52 runs and tried to take the team towards a respectable score, but he did not get any support from the other end. Jamie Smith and Brooke tried to score runs aggressively, but were out early due to careless shots. Only four batsmen in the entire English team could touch double figures.

Stark’s havoc, best spell of his career

Mitchell Starc destroyed England’s batting lineup in the Perth Test. His speed and swing overpowered the English batsmen. His performance was special because the team’s two big bowlers, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, were not playing in this match. Apart from Starc, debutant Brendan Doggett took 2 wickets and Cameron Green also took 1 wicket.

England collapsed

The most surprising thing in this match was that the entire England team could play only 32.5 overs. There was a lot of discussion about baseball as to how this strategy would work in Australia, but the answer was found on the very first day. This strategy proved to be a complete flop.