Moeen Ali with his all round performance has helped England have an edge over Australia as Day 2 of the first Ashes Test between Australia and England came to an end. At stumps, Australia were 364 for the loss of five wickets, traling England by 166 runs.
After Joe Root's heroics with the bat in the first day, Ali scored 77 runs at a quick rate to take England's total to 430 runs.
Australia enjoyed a decent start with David Warner and Chris Rogers adding more than 50 runs for the first wicket, but Warner was dislodged for 17 runs with the score reading 52 for Australia. Rogers turned on the game for Australia as he played some brilliant cover drivers and looked in ease though the leg side as well.
Rogers deserved a century, but unfortunately, he fell five runs short as Mark Wood took the crucial wicket. The English bowlers put constant pressure on the Australian batsmen, which helped them take wickets at regular intervals.
The English bowlers did not give the Australians much time to settle as the Aussies batsmen could not convert their starts to meaningful scores. Captain Michael Clarke scored 38 runs, Steven Smith (33) and Adam Voges(31).
"For a lot of us to get out the way we did, it's going to hurt, particularly when there was an opportunity to really make it count today," Reuters quoted Rogers as saying.
"The fact that I got a 90 and there were three 30s and a few of the ways we got out, that'll hurt us and we think were better than that.
"But if you are positive and going at it some times you are going to get out these ways."
One should give special credit to Ali, who bowled well, despite runs being scored of the spinner. Ali managed to get rid of Clarke and Smith, who are both said to be wonderful players of spin.
With Shane Watson at the batting crease alongside Nathan Lyon and others to follow, Australia will want Watson to stand up and score some important runs. Brad Haddin, who is yet to bat, will be another key batsman for Australia.
The English team have a great chance of attacking the Australians, who cannot afford to trail in first innings with the Aussies having to bat last in this pitch at Cardiff, which might deteriorate.
"England are probably in a happier position at the moment. I think the wicket is going to possibly deteriorate so it could be hard work for us, possibly at the back end," added Rogers.
Where to Watch Live
England and Australia first Test Day 3 action is scheduled for 11am local start (3:30pm IST, 6am ET, 7:30pm AEST) with live TV coverage in India on Star Sports 1/HD with live streaming on starsports.com.
UK viewers can follow the action live on Sky Sports 2 with live streaming on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go, while Australian viewers can watch Day 3 live on Nine Network and online on CA website.
US viewers can watch the Day 3 of the Ashes first Test live in TV on One World Sports with live streaming on Watch ESPN.
