Twitter Reactions: South Africa dominate day 2 with all-round performance at Lord's

South African openers Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee put an 85-run partnership for the first wicket.

By Sumeet Kavthale

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England vs South Africa first Test
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England vs South Africa first Test. (Photo Source: Twitter/EnglandCricket)

South Africa put on an all-round display on day two of the ongoing first Test match against England at the Lord’s on Thursday. England, starting from 116/6 on day one, stumbled on just 165 runs during the first session of day two. South Africa’s ace pacer, Kagiso Rabada, took three wickets to complete a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Then South African batters impressed against England’s pace attack and finished day two’s play at 289/7 with a healthy 124-run lead.

South African pacers dominated the rain-interrupted day one with six wickets and continued that momentum on Thursday as well. Rabada gave Proteas their first success by removing settled Ollie Pope, who scored 73 runs off just 102 balls. Stuart Board gave away his wicket in Rabada’s next over to end England’s hope to reach the two-hundred run mark. Matthew Potts and Jack Leach put a 19-run partnership for the ninth wicket and guided the hosts past 150 runs.

Marco Jansen clean-bowled Leach, who scored 15 runs off just 17 balls, and Rabada removed veteran Englishman James Anderson on a golden duck to end the hosts’ first innings on just 165 runs. Pacers took all ten wickets for the Proteas as Keshav Maharaj didn’t get a chance to bowl in the first innings. This was Rabada’s 12th five-f0r in Test cricket, and now he is just two wickets away from completing 250 wickets in the red-ball format.

England pacers failed to replicate what South African pacers did

It’s always hard to predict the Lord’s surface on the first two days, but fans were expecting the same outcome from the English pacers as well. England dominated the last two months with an attacking approach with both bat and bowl and were expected to make a similar impact in this match as well. But their pace-attack proved less effective compared to the traveling side’s attack on the second and last session of day one.

South African opening pair of Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee put an 85-run partnership for the first wicket. Anderson took his 658th Test wicket to give England an opening in form of Elgar, who scored 47 runs off 81 balls. Keegan Peterson scored 24 runs to put another fifty-plus runs partnership for the second wicket. Matthew Potts dismissed Petersen and Leach removed Aiden Markram to get England back in the game.

But Erwee continued to dominate from the one end and smashed his first fifty in Test cricket. But the England skipper Stokes removed both Erwee and Rassie van der Dussesn after the Tea break to put pressure on South Africa. Stuart Broad took his first wicket of the match and the 100th wicket at the Lord’s to dismiss Kyle Verreyne on just 11 runs.

Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj formed an attacking brilliant partnership of 72 runs. Stokes took his third wicket of the day by removing dangerous-looking Maharaj, who scored 41 runs off just 49 balls. Jansen remained unbeaten on 41 runs off 57 balls and Rabada on three runs at the end of day two at Lord’s to give their side a decent 124-run lead.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the second day’s game between England and South Africa

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