India, Dec. 22 -- Australia retained the Ashes with two matches to spare after paceman Mitchell Starc took three of the last four wickets to blunt England's defiant comeback Sunday in a tense fifth-day finish to the third cricket test. Australia started Day 5 needing four wickets to retain the Ashes, with England resuming at 6-207 and still 228 runs away from the victory target of 435 that would have required a world record to achieve.

"Feels pretty awesome," Australia captain Pat Cummins said of the 82-run win at the Adelaide Oval. "We got it done." Cummins missed the first two tests while recovering from a back problem, with Steve Smith leading the team to two eight-wicket wins. Smith was ruled out of the third test about a half-hour b...