England 172 and 6-247 (Joe Root 87, Kevin Pietersen 53, Peter Siddle 2-21) trails Australia 9-570 declared and 3- 132 declared (David Warner 83*, Steven Smith 23, James Anderson 2-19) by 284 runs with four wickets in hand.

The misery of poor batting for England continued in their second innings of the 2^nd Test when they lost six wickets and were heading towards another defeat.

Australia declared their first innings after a hefty score of 9-570 followed by another declaration for 132 with seven wickets remaining in the second. England scored 172 runs in their first innings and was struggling at 247 for the loss of six wickets in their second turn.

The fourth day’s play finished on Sunday, December 8, 2013, at Adelaide Oval.

Earlier, the hosts declared their second innings at their overnight score of 3-132 in 39 overs after gaining an overall lead of 530 runs. The decision paid off instantly as the visitors lost two quick wickets at 20 as Kevin Pietersen along with Joe Root got together in the center and took the score to 65 at the lunch break. Root went past his fourth Test fifty in the 40^th over and Pietersen followed him with his 34^th half century with a couple of lofty sixes.

The partnership concluded at 131 when Kevin Pietersen was clean bowled by Peter Siddle for 53 and Ian Bell managed just six runs. Joe Root opted to attack but became the fifth victim for 87 as Ben stokes and Matt Prior joined in the park. The score was enhanced to 210 when Stokes left the scene for 28 and was replaced by Stuart Broad. The tourists reached 247 after losing six wickets in 90 overs while Prior and Broad were batting at 31 and 22.

Peter Siddle was the main wicket taker with two whereas Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon and Steven Smith shared one each.

England still requires another 284 runs to win the game with just four wickets intact and Australia will anticipate winding up the tail at the earliest.