1st Test West Indies vs Australia: 598/4d – 212/4 (WI trail by 386 runs)
The second day of the 1st Test match between West Indies vs Australia was an eventful one as batsmen from both sides enjoyed the conditions and continued to accumulate runs. Australia had resumed their innings from the overnight score of 293. Steve Smith was not out on 59 while Labuschagne resumed at 154.
Test Match West Indies vs Australia – Labuschagne & Smith Pile Runs:
It seemed like a batting paradise as the Australian Batsmen continued to plunder runs. On the second morning, the Australian batsmen batted with a positive attitude and great intent at the TestMatch. Their efforts paid off as the runs continued to flow freely and West Indian bowlers had no answer to the scenario.
The two batsmen added 251 runs for the third wicket as Marnus Labuschagne got out shortly after scoring his double century.
Just at the stroke of lunch, the West Indian Captain Kraig Brathwaite came on as a part-time off spinner. Marnus Labuschagne had just brought up his double century with a brilliant drive in the previous order and must have eyed the 300-run mark. However, the first ball of the final over of the morning session undid him.
Labuschagne had nicked one to the keeper and simply couldn’t believe what had happened. It was a harmless delivery bowled on the fifth stump. Still, Australia was in a commanding position at their 1st Test Match as the scoreboard read 402/3.
In the post-lunch session, Australians continued to plunder runs. Steve Smith looked in the form of his life and displayed a classy stroke play while Travis Head played the role of the aggressor. He brought up his fifty in 61 balls. By now, Steve Smith had set his sights on the magical 200 mark while Travis Head continued to push for some quick runs before declaration.
In the 153rd over, there came a moment when Travis head tapped the ball down the ground for a single. That brought Steve Smith back on strike, at that particular moment, Steve Smith was on 199 while Travis Head was on 99. Both batsmen were just one run away from the landmark. Steve Smith gently tapped the ball into the off-side to bring up his 4th double century in TestMatch cricket.
The Australian dressing room looked jubilant as they waited for Head to get to his hundred as well. However, Head inside edged the ball back onto his stumps as his innings finished at 99. Australia declared at that point with 598 runs on the board.
Test Match West Indies vs Australia – West Indies Show Resilience:
It was a stiff challenge for the West Indies vs Australia Openers and pacers looked ready to run at them. Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Cameron Green have the potential to demolish any batting line-up, especially in the Australian conditions.
However, the West Indian Batsmen did well to negotiate the threat. In their 25 overs in the evening session, West Indies scored 74 runs without the loss of any wicket. Tagenarine Chanderpaul looked composed on his debut as he remained not-out on 47 at the end of day’s play.
Australia is still on top. But it would be interesting to see how West Indies fare on third day of the first test match.
Test Match West Indies vs Australia – Squad
West Indies vs Australia 1st Test Match – Australia Squad:
Australia fielded their full-strength test side as they want to win both these test matches and strengthen their position on the World Test Championship table. They fielded 5 batsmen, three quicks, one allrounder, one spinner, and one wicket-keeper batter.
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
1st Test Match West Indies vs Australia – West Indies Squad:
On the other hand, West Indies also named their full-strength test team with the same combination of 5 batters, 1 keeper, 1 fast bowling allrounder, 3 quicks and one off-spinner, who can bat.
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales
Where to Watch:
Watch All 2022 – 2023 Cricket Matches Full Broadcast on Live Streaming Platform
