Australia quicks hit back after strong West Indies bowling effort

The opening day of the first Test match against Australia was nothing short of magical for the West Indies. The hosts managed to bowl out the `Baggy Greens` for just 180 runs in 56.5 overs.

Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph were breathing fire during the match as they claimed five and four wickets, respectively. Completing his 16 overs, Joseph bagged four wickets for 46 runs, whereas Seales claimed a fifer by conceding 60 runs in 15.5 overs.

Justin Greaves registered one wicket for 26 runs in nine overs. Alzarri Joseph and captain Roston Chase went wicketless in the first innings of the Test match.

Usman Khawaja smashed 47 runs in 128 balls, including four boundaries and a maximum. On the other hand, Travis Head accumulated 59 runs off 78 deliveries, which was laced with nine boundaries. At the end, skipper Pat Cummins scored a quick 28 runs in 18 balls. During his knock, he smashed three boundaries and a maximum.

Sam Konstas, who was picked in the squad in place of Marnus Labuschagne, departed early on three runs. No other Australian batsmen managed to score many runs in their first innings of the match.

Later, when the Caribbeans came in to bat, Australian pacers brought their `A-game` to get the early breakthroughs. So far, Mitchell Starc has two wickets to his name, followed by Josh Hazlewood and Cummins` one each.

Keacy Carty, who seemed to be well-settled in the middle, departed after scoring 20 runs in 40 balls. The West Indies will resume day two with a score of 57 runs for the loss of four wickets. Brandon King and Roston Chase are still unbeaten on the scores of 23 and one run, respectively.

At the end of day one, while speaking on his heroics, Seales said, “This was really special for me. I was injured when last I played a Test against them so to come back here and get five was really satisfying. With the new ball we knew we had to bowl a bit fuller. This pitch was also a bit slower than the Australians would have expected and that worked in our favour with them playing at balls they didn`t have to”.

(With AFP Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day