The wicket of Steve Smith, who scored twin centuries in the first Ashes test in 2019, has ruled this enthralling session in favour of England. We witnessed some high-quality bowling and top-class batting in this session on Day 2, which has put England in the driver’s seat in this test match.
It was this morning in England that we saw swing for the first time in this test match, as the conditions were a little bit overcast. Broad was spot on from ball one and troubled both Aussie batters, but Warner once again fell prey to the English bowler as he crashed one on to his stumps.
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Broad got Labuschagne bluffed on the very next ball of Warner’s wicket as Labuschagne nicked the ball to Bairstow, who took a fantastic catch going towards his right. England had two in two and were absolutely on top, but Smith and Khwaja stabilised the innings a little bit.
As soon as Smith and Khwaja looked settled and the session was going Australia’s way, the English captain came in and found Steve Smith plumb in front of the wickets to rule this lunch session his way and end the 38-run partnership between the southpaw, Usman Khwaja, and Steve Smith.
Moeen Ali was also introduced early in the game, as the wicket did not offer much help. Anderson did not prove very effective, as he bowled only six overs. Broad was the pick of the bowlers, as he has figures of 7-3-17-2 going into lunch.
The Kangaroos are in deep trouble with their three best batters already in the dugout, but the good news for them is that Khwaja is looking settled in at a score of 40, and Travis Head has looked really positive in his short stay at the crease till now.
A lot of off-spin will be there in the next session, and both Aussie batters on the crease will use a lot of sweeps and reverse sweeps to counter Moeen Ali. It is going to be a fascinating tea session, as it could very well decide which way this match is going.
