Match: Australia vs South Africa | Second Test Match 2022 | Day 4
Dates: 26th December 2022 – 30th December 2022
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Australia vs South Africa Teams – Playing XIs:
South Africa’s playing XI:
Dean Elgar (c), Kyle Verreynne (wk), Sarel Erwee, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Khaya Zondo, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
Australia’s playing XI:
Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey (wk), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon
Australia vs South Africa – Toss:
Australian Captain Pat Cummins had won the toss and decided to put South Africans in to bat.
Match Report – Day 4 of the Second Test Match | Australia vs South Africa:
Australia wins the match and take an unassailable lead of 2-0| 2nd Test Match | Australia vs South Africa:
Australians proved too good for the Proteas as they got out for 204 runs in their second innings. With that victory, Australia won the test match by an innings and 182 runs. Not just that, the Aussies also took a lead of 2-0 in the series with one final test to go.
Australia’s qualification changes for the ICC World Test Championship final improved considerably while Proteas will rely on India’s results in the coming matches.
It was a disappointing performance from South Africa as they folded for 204 runs.
South Africa’s poor batting effort – 2nd Test Match:
South Africa resumed their innings on day 4 at the score of 15/1. De Bruyn and Sarel Erwee were at the crease to start the day. The two batters showed some resistance but the Aussie quicks were too good for them. Mitchell Starc picked up the first wicket of the day with a fast, pacy, searing yorker on middle stump.
There was a huge appeal for LBW but the umpire remained unmoved. Australians reviewed that one and dismissed Sarel Erwee as the ball was crashing into the leg stump. A couple of overs later De Bruyn was dismissed by Scot Boland. This was followed by another disappointing dismissal as Khaya Zondo was run out.
The Keeper Kyle Verreynne joined Temba Bavuma at the crease. This was the only partnership of the day that looked slightly in control of the things. The two batters added 63 runs for the 5th wicket. Verreynne was dismissed for 33 while Bavuma batted on to make a gritty 65.
South Africa were bundled out for 204 runs.
Australia’s bowling vs South Africa – Second Test Match:
All the Australian bowlers shared the wickets column. Starc picked up one, Cummins got one, Boland picked up 2 while Nathan Lyon dismissed three batters. In addition to the regular bowlers, Steve Smith also picked up one wicket.
Player of the Match – Second Test Match:
David Warner was deservingly announced the man of the match for his impressive double hundred. His innings of 200 runs had set the platform for Australia and allowed them to deliver the knockout punch.
Australia vs South Africa – Next Match of the Series:
The third and final test match of the series will start on 3rd January. Australia would look to Clean Sweep South Africa while the Proteas would want to save some ICC WTC points.
What is Test Match?
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last for up to five days. In the past, some Test matches had no time limit and were called Timeless Tests. The term “test match” was originally coined in 1861–62 but in a different context.
Test cricket did not become an officially recognised format until the 1890s, but many international matches since 1877 have been retrospectively awarded Test status. The first such match took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in March 1877 between teams which were then known as a Combined Australian XI and James Lillywhite’s XI, the latter a team of visiting English professionals.
