Twitter Reactions: Bowlers keep New Zealand at bay after Travis Head’s ton

The Kiwis are trailing by 423 runs will eight left in their first innings.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Travis Head
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Travis Head. (Photo by Graham Denholm – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

It can well be said that Australia dominated the second day of the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand at the MCG. The honours were shared on the first day, but Travis Head’s second Test ton along with some fiery shows from the bowling unit turned the tide. The Black Caps, having found themselves in a rabbit hole, need to pull out something extraordinary to stage a comeback.

Head and Paine frustrate the hosts

The Kiwis made a brilliant start to the day as Neil Wagner’s bouncer got rid of Steve Smith (85), who could only add eight runs to his overnight score. From there on, Head and Tim Paine (79) took charge and put on 150 runs for the sixth wicket. The duo not only took the Aussies unscathed to Lunch, but also played out the post-Lunch session, taking their team to a decent 431 for five.

In the last session, Wagner separated the pair, removing Paine, who smacked nine fours in his knock. Thereafter, Paine got to his century off 222 balls. But he fell prey to Wagner after scoring 114 with 12 fours. The hosts’ batting had a mini-collapse as the lower order batters couldn’t show much resistance. Tim Southee picked up Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon to end Australia’s innings at 467.

Pacers put pressure on New Zealand

The New Zealand batters had a tough time in the middle during their 18 overs on the day. Openers Tom Latham (9*) and Tom Blundell (15) played out 34 balls. However, Pat Cummins found Blundell’s outside-edge to strike first blood. Skipper Kane Williamson didn’t have the best of times in the Day-Night Perth Test. To his dismay, the Tauranga-born couldn’t make amends even in at the MCG.

He mistimed a pull-shot off James Pattinson and perished after getting nine. At the other end, Latham put his head down and was determined to play out the rest of the overs. For the third wicket, Latham had the experienced Ross Taylor for company. The Kiwis are still trailing by a mammoth 423 runs and a lot will depend on Latham and Ross for the visitors to put the skids under the Aussies.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the day’s play

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