Sensational Ben Stokes stars as England beat Australia by one wicket to win third Test
Leeds, United Kingdom: Ben Stokes hit a stunning unbeaten century as England defeated Australia by one wicket to win an epic third Test at Headingley on Sunday and keep the Ashes alive.
England, bowled out for just 67 in their first innings, needed 73 more runs to reach a victory target of 359 when last man, the bespectacled Jack Leach, came into bat on the fourth day.
But Leach held firm before Stokes, the batting hero of England's World Cup final triumph, hit the winning runs by flaying paceman Pat Cummins for a four that saw the all-rounder finish on 135 not out.
This was England's highest successful fourth-innings chase and the tenth highest in Test history.
A remarkable victory, which arguably surpassed their 1981 Ashes Test triumph at Headingley when they beat Australia after following-on -- saw England level the five-match series at 1-1.
Brief scores
Australia 1st innings 179 (M Labuschagne 74, D Warner 61; J Archer 6-45)
England 1st innings 67 (J Hazlewood 5-30, P Cummins 3-23) Australia 2nd innings 246 (M Labuschagne 80; B Stokes 3-56)
England 2nd innings 362-9 (B Stokes 135 no, J Root 77, J Denly 50; J Hazlewood 4-85) Result: England won by one wicket
Series: Five-match series level at 1-1.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
