Survival is glory: Internet lauds England for Ashes Sydney Test draw vs Australia

Australia’s chances of whitewashing England
has been dashed after the touring English side secured a thrilling
draw in the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on Sunday. Chasing
a daunting 388 runs target, England, who gave away 122 runs first innings lead,
batted with determination as they finished at 270 for 9 in the second innings on the fifth and final day of the fourth Test.

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But that was enough as, in the end, the job
of denying Australia from making it 4-0 was left to the tailenders.  Jack Leach, Stuart Broad and then Jimmy
Anderson batted out the final 10 overs under immense pressure after Pat Cummins
and Scott Boland took three quick wickets in the final session before Steve
Smith removed Leach with two overs remaining to set up a nervous finale to a
gripping test match.

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It is only the 24th time in the history of
Test cricket that a team saved a match after losing nine wickets in the fourth
innings. Broad and Anderson who played more than 150 Test matches battled out
the final two overs on day 5 to not allow Australia to extend their series lead
to 4-0. Australia are currently leading the series 3-0 and retained the Ashes.
The fifth Test is scheduled to start in Hobart on January 14.

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As England held Australia to a draw in Sydney, people on Twitter has gone crazy.

Resuming the third and final session on Day
5 at 174/4, Ben Stokes and centurion of the first innings Jonny Bairstow added
19 more runs to the total before Nathan Lyon dismissed Stokes (60). England then
had 27.2 overs to survive to walk away with a draw.

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Earlier in the session, Stokes did not
appear to let the pain of his left side injury curtail his attacking shots as
he crushed ten boundaries and a six as part of his 60 runs, to go with his 66
in the first innings.

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Zak Crawley scored 77, opening the innings as Dawid Malan and Haseeb Hameed once again failed along with captain Joe Root. England were nowhere in the game after their dismissals. After that, it was just a matter of time for Australia to win the match. Jos Buttler’s dismissal further dented their confidence.  

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But in the end, Leach, Broad and Anderson put up a rare example of resistance as England denied Australia a chance of winning the Ashes series 5-0.