Australia vs West Indies, 2nd Test Stats Review: Shamar Joseph's record spell, Steve Smith's feat and other stats
Australia lost a day-night Test for the first time.
Kavem Hodge and Joshua Da Silva's impressive batting, combined with Sharmar Joseph's outstanding 7/68, led West Indies to a thrilling eight-run victory over Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane as the visitors ended the series on level terms at 1-1.
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat, but their start was shaky. They lost skipper Kraigg Brathwaite for just four runs, followed by a string of wickets that left them struggling at 64/5. However, Kavem Hodge and Da Silva came to the rescue with a magnificent 149-run partnership. Da Silva reached his fifty before being dismissed for 71, while Hodge reached 79 before departing. Kevin Sinclair and Alzarri Joseph also contributed valuable scores of 50 and 32, helping the visitors post a respectable 311/10 in their first innings.
Australia, in reply, started poorly as they lost Steve Smith for just six runs and quickly slipped to 54/5 before Alex Carey and Usman Khawaja fought back with a crucial 96-run partnership. Carey departed after reaching his half-century, scoring 65 runs off just 49 balls but Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja continued the resistance with an 81-run stand for the eighth wicket. Khawaja eventually departed for 75, while Cummins remained unbeaten on 64. Nathan Lyon added 19 runs before being dismissed, and Australia declared their innings closed at 289/9.
West Indies started their second innings with a 22-run lead, but they struggled and eventually bowled out for 193. Kirk McKenzie (41), Alick Athanaze (35), Kavem Hodge (29), and Justin Greaves (33) made crucial contributions but the rest of the batters found it tough. Lyon and Josh Hazlewood were the most effective bowlers, picking up three wickets each.
In reply, Australia relied on Smith's unbeaten 91 and Cameron Green's 42 but the rest of the batters failed to provide substantial support,. Eventually, West Indies managed to scrape through to victory by eight runs. Sharmar Joseph was the pick of the bowlers, taking seven wickets for 68 runs, and was deservedly awarded Player of the Match. With this win, West Indies draw the series 1-1.
Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the second Test between Australia and West Indies:
1 - Australia lost a day-night Test for the first time.
3 - Travis Head became the third Australian to score ducks in both innings of a Test, joining Adam Gilchrist and Ryan Harris in this unlucky list.
51 - Nathan Lyon (51 wickets) became the third bowler to reach 50+ Test wickets at the Gabba, joining Shane Warne (68) and Glenn McGrath (65) in this exclusive club.
2 - Pat Cummins became the second captain to score 50+ runs against West Indies while batting at No. 9 or below after Shaun Pollock (South Africa), who achieved this feat at Bridgetown in 2001.
353 - Mitchell Starc completed 350 wickets in Test cricket and became the fifth Australian bowler to achieve this feat.
16069 - Steve Smith completed 16,000 runs across all formats of the game.
383 - Smith became the fastest to complete 16,000 runs by an Australian in international cricket, achieving this milestone in 383 innings, surpassing Ricky Ponting (386).
3 - Shamar Joseph is the third West Indies player to take five wickets in an innings in day/night Test matches. Devendra Bishoo got 8/49 against Pakistan in 2016 and Jason Holder picked 5/41 against Sri Lanka in 2018.
1 - West Indies are the first visiting team to win a day-night Test in Australia.
54 - Nathan Lyon completed 54 Test wickets against West Indies.
4 - Shamar Joseph (7/68) becomes the fourth West Indies bowler to pick a seven-wicket haul in an innings in Australia after Curtly Ambrose (7/25) in 1993, Gerry Gomez (7/55) in 1952, and Andy Roberts (7/54) in 1975.
27 - West Indies won a Test in Australia after 27 years.
Download Our App