Ashes 1st Test: England Bowled Out! Australia Eye 205-Run Chase In Perth

England have been bowled out on a 204-run lead, and its all now in Australia's hands to bounce back from the first innings debacle and win the series opener at home.

Starc picked 10 wickets across the two innings.

Source : X, @ICC

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England have been bowled out on a 204-run second innings lead in Perth. Mitchell Starc and Brendan Doggett picked 3, followed by Scott Boland's 4-wicket haul to restrict the visitors.

The match is now set for a dramatic chase at home for Australia. They have 3 Days and 1 session left in the match, but batting has seemingly not been easy on this surface, which renders this a challenging task to say the least.

Ashes 1st Test: 30 Wickets Fall In Less Than 2 Days

England won the toss early on Day 1 and chose to bat. Their Bazball brand of play, however, faltered against Mitchell Starc's brilliance, who ran through their batting lineup picking 7 wickets.

The visitors set a 172-run lead on Day 1, and while Australia seemed to have had the upper hand, they too, struggled against the fast-bowling.

England's captain, Ben Stokes, chipped in with a 5-wicket haul himself, which helped them get the home side down to 9 wickets at stumps. The following morning, they had them all-out with a 40-run lead.

When Stokes' men came out to bat again, it was the same story. Starc struck in the 1st over of their second innings with an impossible caught-and-bowled, and while there would be a substantial second wicket stand, the English batting order collapsed late during the day, all out on a 204-run lead.

Mitchell Starc 10-Wicket Haul

Among the 20 wickets that England lost across the two innings, 10 were taken by Aussie fast-bowling maestro, Mitchell Starc alone.

As mentioned, he got 7 in the first innings, and then hit back with 3 in the second. 

Notably, he was the one to send back Stokes on both occasions, which in fact, was the 11th time that he had dismissed the English all-rounder.

Although a 205-run chase will likely not be easy, Starc's efforts, partnered by Doggett and Boland, have made sure that the equation has not gone completely out of hand.