AUS vs WI | Twitter reacts as Windies grab lead with surprise declaration after Aussie top-order collapse on Day 2

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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The second Test remained finely poised on Day 2 at Gabba with the West Indies 35 runs ahead for the loss of one wicket. The visiting pacers made the pink ball talk early on to trigger an Aussie collapse but a commanding recovery was followed by a bold declaration from Pat Cummins when still behind.

Brief Scores : WI 311 (Sinclair 50; Starc 4/82), AUS 289/9d (Khawaja 75, Carey 65; Joseph 4/84), WI 13/1 (Chanderpaul 4, Brathwaite 3*; Hazlewood 1/2) 

‌‌After smooth sailing throughout the summer, Australia finally conceded a session in the final match of the five with the Windies invoking their glorious heritage to put the Kangaroos under severe pressure. Debutant Kevin Sinclair kicked off the day by battling his way through to a half-century, backed up by an impressive 40-ball resistance from Kemar Roach, to help the visitors post a first innings total of 311 after an overnight score of 266/8.

The new-ball duo of Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph thus had five overs to go hell for leather before Dinner and took their opportunities with both hands to decimate the Australian top order. Roach struck in the first over itself by trapping Steve Smith LBW with a sharply nipping back-length delivery before Alzarri Joseph jagged one away from Marnus Labuschagne leading to a screamer from Sinclair at second slip. Roach further compounded the misery by first having Green caught at catching mid-off with the penultimate ball of the session and then having Travis Head strangled down leg for a golden luck, leaving the World test champions reeling at 24/4.

However, the famed resilient-when-backs-against-the-wall approach from Australia was evident in full glory in the second session. Mitchell Marsh began the counterattack with a quick 21 while Alex Carey took it one step further in a splendid riposte. The wicket-keeper's 49-ball 65 included four boundaries in one Shamar Joseph over and a meaty maximum and ultimately holed a pull off the former to square leg. All this while, Usman Khawaja had held station for a trademark patient 75 but once he succumbed -- involving elaborate backflip celebration from Sinclair -- with the team still trailing by nearly 70, a significant first innings lead seemed to be on the horizon for the Caribbean outfit. Not today said skipper Cummins as he took off and blazed a 65 off 73 balls before calling quits with a wicket in hand to have a go at the visitors under lights.

The strategy paid off with Tagenarine Chanderpaul nicking off on the last ball of the day, letting Seve Smith off the hook for dropping a sitter an over earlier.

What a drop!

Starc is fumming!

Helpless batters!

Sandpaper time

Nothing at all

What was it

Dropped

Controversy!

LOL

+1

Sitter

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