WI V AUS, 3RD TEST
Alzarri has picked three wickets in the innings so far © AFP
Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph ripped through Australia’s top order to reduce the visitors to 99 for 6 in the second innings, at the end of the second day’s play, at the Sabina Park in Kingston. On a 15-wicket day, Australia held on to a slightly stronger position with a 181-run lead, and four wickets still in hand.
Resuming the play on Sundat at 16 for 1, after having bundled out Australia for 225 on the opening day, West Indies were watchful in the first half an hour before a delivery from Josh Hazlewood nipped in and trapped Brandon King lbw. The batter challenged the on-field umpire’s decision, but he was given out on umpire’s call.
Scott Boland struggled with his front-foot for a fair bit, overstepping thrice, as West Indies braced through the challenges early on the day. Roston Chase was especially defiant, before Pat Cummins came into the attack and he ended up chasing a wide delivery and edging one to slips.
West Indies looked fairly steady at 73 for 3 at Lunch, but the Australian pacers ripped through the hosts in the second session. Even as Carey dropped chances and Boland continued to overstep, there was little respite for the West Indian batters. John Campbell was trapped legbefore while not offering a shot and Mikyle Louis and Shai Hope were cleaned up. Justin Greaves was run out and the rest of the lower order didn’t offer much resistance as Australia took a massive lead.
The visitors, however, couldn’t run away with that advantage. West Indies hit back with the ball right away, with Sam Konstas getting a thick outside edge to gully to be dismissed for a duck in the second over of the innings. Even as Cameron Green looked steady and crunched a few boundaries, West Indies kept chipping away from the other end.
Usman Khawaja was cleaned up for 14, and then Alzarri wreaked havoc. He knocked over the stumps of Steve Smith and Beau Webster. Travis Head couldn’t add much to the team’s cause either as he was caught edging to the second slip.
Late in the day, the 21st over provided a double burst for Alzarri, who had Alex Carey dismissed for a three-ball duck soon after sending back Webster.
There were a couple of times when Green found himself in trouble while running, but survived to head to stumps unbeaten on 42. He had the company of skipper Pat Cummins, as they played out the last nine overs of the day without any damage.
Brief Scores: Australia 225 (Steve Smith 48, Cameron Green 46; Shamar Joseph 4-33, Justin Greaves 3-56, Jayden Seales 3-59) & 99/6 (Cameron Green 42*; Alzarri Joseph 3-19) lead West Indies 143 (John Campbell 36, Shai Hope 23; Scott Boland 3-34, Pat Cummins 2-24) by 181 runs
© Cricbuzz
