Australia delivered a crushing eight-wicket victory over England in the day-night second Ashes Test at The Gabba on December 7, 2025, surging to a 2-0 series lead with a clinical chase that exposed the visitors' frailties across all facets. Chasing a meagre 66 runs after England's second-innings collapse to 241 all out, the hosts romped home in just 10 overs, with stand-in captain Steve Smith smashing a match-winning six off Gus Atkinson's final delivery over square leg to seal the triumph. Mitchell Starc, the undisputed star of the match, earned Player of the Match honours for his all-round brilliance, including a gritty 77 off 141 balls in Australia's first innings—his highest Test score in nearly nine years—and key wickets that dismantled England's resistance. The result, while not as swift as the two-day rout in the Perth opener, reinforces Australia's dominance in pink-ball cricket at this venue, where they have now won their last three day-night tests by margins exceeding eight wickets.

England's batting imploded once more, mirroring the rash strokeplay that plagued them in Perth, save for isolated sparks from Joe Root (century in the first dig) and a gritty 96-run stand between captain Ben Stokes (50 off 152) and Will Jacks (41) in the second innings. Resuming Day 4 at 134 for 6 and trailing by 43, the tourists briefly threatened a rearguard with Stokes and Jacks frustrating Australia's seamers under overcast skies, extending their lead to 16 by tea at 193 for 6. However, Michael Neser's maiden Test five-for (5-42) triggered a collapse of four wickets for 48 runs, including Stokes caught behind and Jacks to a stunning one-handed slip catch by Smith, bundling England out in 75.2 overs. Scott Boland's miserly 6-66 and Starc's probing spells (2-48) exploited the pink ball's seam movement, leaving England's "Bazball" aggression in tatters—their scoring rate dipping to a series-low 3.2 runs per over in the chase phase.

Australia's first-innings declaration at 511 all out—after a mammoth 177-run lead over England's 334—set the tone, built on Starc's resilient ninth-wicket stand of 75 with Scott Boland and solid contributions from Jake Weatherald (72), Marnus Labuschagne (65), and Starc himself. Starc's heroics extended from Day 1's six-wicket haul (6-71), where he surpassed Wasim Akram for the most Test wickets by a left-arm pacer, to his Day 3 resilience against a tiring England attack under Brisbane's humidity. The seam quartet of Starc, Boland, Neser (selected controversially over Nathan Lyon), and Brendan Doggett zipped the ball around, justifying Australia's bold XI tweaks amid injuries to Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. England, already 1-0 down, now faces an unprecedented recovery: no team has ever clawed back from a 2-0 Ashes deficit in 143 years of history.

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In the chase, openers Travis Head (22) and Weatherald (17 not out) laid a brisk foundation before Gus Atkinson struck twice, removing Head and Labuschagne (3) to briefly inject tension. But Smith (23 not out), exchanging barbs with Jofra Archer in a nod to their 2019 rivalry, dispatched the decisive blow, underscoring Australia's depth and composure. The win, witnessed by a raucous sellout crowd, propels the series to Adelaide for the third Test on December 17, where England desperately needs a Stokes-inspired miracle to revive their campaign.

This Brisbane masterclass cements Starc's legacy in an Ashes series already dubbed his finest, blending endurance with match-winning flair reminiscent of Mitchell Johnson's 2013-14 terror. For England, the capitulation amplifies scrutiny on their aggressive blueprint's adaptability against Australia's pace battery, with injuries and dropped catches compounding the woes. As the urn's fate tilts further Australia's way, the series—poised for potential whitewash—promises escalating drama, reminding all why this oldest rivalry endures as cricket's pinnacle.

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