Joe Root falls before close of play to leave England on brink of defeat after Day 4 of 2nd Ashes Test

England captain Joe Root fell for 24, just before stumps on Sunday, as the visitors crumbled to 82 for 4 in their second innings of the 2nd Ashes Test in Adelaide. Earlier, Australia declared their second innings on 230 for 9, setting England a massive target of 468. By stumps, the Aussies were six wickets away from going 2-0 up in the five-match series.

Chasing a mammoth target, England got off to a poor start once again. Haseeb Hameed perished without scoring to Jhye Richardson, edging a brilliant delivery that angled in and seamed away. Dawid Malan looked good during his 20 before being trapped lbw by a full delivery from Michael Neser.

Rory Burns, under pressure following three failures in the Ashes so far, batted with resolve. He got a start but failed to convert it into a substantial innings. He edged a fuller delivery from Richardson that straightened off the seam and dismissed him on 34.

The biggest setback for England, though, came with what turned out to be the last ball on Day 4 of the pink-ball Test. Having taken a painful blow in the groin area from a Mitchell Starc delivery, a tentative Root edged the left-arm seamer behind the stumps soon after. England need another Headingley-like miracle from Ben Stokes (3*) to win the Adelaide Test on Day 5 - 386 runs to be precise.

England began well on Day 4

Earlier, James Anderson got England off to a good start on Day 4, cleaning up nightwatchman Neser for 3. Jos Buttler’s bizarre Test continued as he plucked a blinder to send back Marcus Harris (23) off Stuart Broad. However, he dropped a sitter offered by Steve Smith in the very next delivery.

The drama continued as Broad rapped Australia’s stand-in captain on the pads with a full and fast delivery. England went for a review after the ‘not out’ call and Smith survived as ‘impact’ was umpire's call.

Luckily for Buttler, Smith's drop did not prove costly. The Aussie was strangled down the leg side by Ollie Robinson for 6 as England’s unpredictable keeper pulled off another beauty. Despite Australia losing early wickets, Travis Head came in and started playing his strokes.

The hosts were under no pressure as such, having already gained a healthy lead. Head took full advantage of the same, finding the boundaries at will. Australia were 134 for 4 heading into the first break, with Head on 45 off 44 and Marnus Labuschagne on 31 off 76.

Head, Labuschagne fell after fifties as Australia pushed for declaration

At the start of the second session, Head eased to his half-century off 49 balls. His innings ended on 51 as he pulled a short ball from Robinson to deep square leg, where Ben Stokes took a very well-judged catch. Intriguingly, Robinson had earlier bowled a few overs of off-spin without any reward.

Following Head’s departure, Labuschagne carried on and reached his fifty, to go along with his first-innings century. He too perished for 51, hitting part-time spinner Dawid Malan to deep midwicket, thus becoming the England batter’s first Test victim.

Root, who did not take the field at the start of play due to an injury, chipped in with wickets again. This time, he had Alex Carey (6), who chopped on while attempting a cut. Starc (19) then holed out to deep midwicket, trying to take on the England captain. Richardson (8) slammed Malan for a six and perished immediately after as Australia declared their innings on 230.