Twitter Reactions: WACA Test proves to be a cliffhanger on day 2

When David Warner and Shaun Marsh walked out to resume the proceedings for Australia on day 2 having completely dominated things in the previous evening it looked quite convenient for the Aussies to take a big lead in the first innings given that they had over 100 runs on the board and the way Warner was batting looked quite ominous for the opposition.

They quickly raced off to 150 with Warner marching his way to the 17th Test hundred but just then Dale Steyn produced a wicket-taking delivery as it took the outside edge of Warner’s bat and landed in the safe pair of Hashim Amla at slips. He was out for 97 and Australia lost their first wicket for 158.

If this wicket was considered a blow, it was just the tip of the iceberg that was visible at that moment. What followed was a dismal batting show by the Aussies as no incoming batsman showed enough application and intention to last at the crease. South Africa even without the services of their spearhead Steyn who suffered a shoulder injury that has put him out of contention for the remainder of the series were able to wrack up 10 wickets while the batting team added only 89 runs to the total.

Vernon Philander was the stand out bowler for the Proteas and so was debutant Keshav Maharaj. While the right-arm pacer struck down four Aussies with his swing the left-arm spinner scalped three to mark a successful debut. Australia were bowled out for 244 and managed to take a 2-run lead.

South Africa in their second inning didn’t have the best of the starts either as Stephen Cook once again fell early, this time to Peter Siddle. Josh Hazlewood who had removed Hashim Amla in the first inning for a duck let him score just one run this time before sending him back to the pavilion. At stumps, the Proteas had 104 runs and a lead of 102 on the board for the loss of two wickets.

Day 3 will certainly be the best day of this Test match and probably the decider as well.

Here is how Twitter reacted during the course of the day’s play:

https://twitter.com/deeputalks/status/794474379606257664