Australia vs England 2nd Test Day 1,Review: Warner, Khawaja stomp New Zealand

Australia vs England 2nd Test Day 1, Review: Warner, Khawaja stomp New Zealand: Another day, another venue, but same result. In a day wherein the Australian batsmen utterly dominated the New Zealand bowlers. In a demoralizing manner, Warner blunted the New Zealand attack, scoring 244 at a strike rate hovering around 90. Meanwhile, Khawaja notched up yet another century. As far as New Zealand is concerned, they would rather forget everything and start the new day afresh, and look to bat well enough to draw the match.

After winning the toss for a second consecutive time, Steven Smith decided to bat first in a beauty of a wicket. Though there was not much for the bowlers, the bowlers will be rewarded for hitting the deck hard. One might have expected a much better performance from the black-caps. But what we witnessed was absolute annihilation, just like a snake venom kills its prey slowly.

Right from the start, Warner was positively attacking the bowlers. Tim Southee, who made a return after a successful recovery, was the only bowler who was close enough to trouble the batsmen. While Burns never looked comfortable at the crease, Warner was sublime with his timing, and a long day reckoned for the New Zealand bowlers.

With the new ball negotiated, the runs were coming like a flowing water for the Aussies. Warner completed yet another fifty before the lunch, but Burns failed to capitalize on a batsmen friendly pitch, dragging one to the stumps. Still, Australia were in a comfortable position going back to the hut for lunch, with the scorecard reading 105-1. With the exception of Bracewell, none of the bowlers were consistent enough with their line and lengths, and Bracewell was quite unlucky not to get a wicket.

The post lunch session was a hard toil for the New Zealand. And they had their fair share of bad luck. Having exhausted both their reviews in the first session itself, the New Zealand were left flummoxed when a slight edge from Khawaja’s bat was given not out. With no reviews up in the bag, the visitors had to accept the decision as it is. Warner, meanwhile, continued his march towards his third consecutive century, and a 3^rd century at the WACA in 6 innings.

Khawaja, from the other side, was oozing confidence with Lara-sque shots all around the ground. With the exception of that wrong decision by the Umpire, Khawaja’s innings was perfect. Aussies went back for tea unscathed, and New Zealand’s confidence was already blunted.

The post Tea session continued Australia’s march forward, and New Zealand’s misery. Both the batsmen got to their respective milestones after tea. While Khawaja notched up yet another century, Warner raced past his 150, and was well set for his maiden double hundred. The New Zealand captain was clueless, and to run through the overs, he brought himself into the attack to get the new ball quickly.

But the scoring rate never stopped, nor did the wickets fall, even with the new ball. Warner got to his much-dreamt double hundred, and celebrated in his typical style. But in an unexpected fashion, Khawaja fell to Bracewell just a few overs before the end of the day. With Smith coming in to bat, a long day was awaiting the visitors. The Aussies ended the day with a humongous 416 on board, and David Warner just 6 runs away from a 250.

Summary

Absolute carnage at the WACA, as Warner and Khawaja blunted the New Zealand attack with some clinical batting. The visitors ran out of luck at times, but cannot really blame themselves for the nature of the pitch. Another long day ahead for the visitors, but they would rather concentrate more on batting well on such a good surface.

Scorecard

Australia 416/2 in 90 overs (Warner 244*, Khawaja 121; Bracewell 1-57)