As the bells were put down at The Gabba, Brisbane on Day 2, the first Test match of the 2017 Ashes is perfectly in balance. England started the day after a gutsy batting display on the first day on the first day with their scoreboard had 196 runs on it at the loss of 4 wickets. Brilliant half-centuries from James Vince and Mark Stoneman were the eye catchers from the first day of the encounter.
However, the second day saw the England batting line-up collapse rather quickly than expected as the team got bundled out for 302. Fresher Dawid Malan contributed hugely with his 56-run knock to take England past the 300 run mark and was supported well by Moeen Ali who managed to get a score of 38.
The England batting line-up fell victim to a brilliant Mitchell Starc who claimed two wickets to his name.Pat Cummins got his share of 3 while Josh Hazlewood had to settle for just 1.
Coming onto the bat, the Australians found themselves in huge trouble upfront with the top order departing cheaply. The dangerous David Warner got a start but failed to make it big. The hosts lost four quick wickets under the 100 run mark which put England in the driver’s seat. However, skipper Steve Smith had other intentions. The fidgety batsman combined brilliantly with Shaun Marsh to put on an 89 run stand to take the Kangaroos to a respectable position.
Opener Cameron Bancroft failed to make a mark in his Ashes debut while Usman Khawaja continued his poor form. Steve Smith proved once again why he is topping the charts in the ICC Test rankings and Shaun Marsh proved the selectors right in opting for him.
Smith remained unbeaten at the score of 64 facing 148 deliveries while Marsh ended the day with a few runs short of his 50 at 44. James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Jake Ball bagged one wicket each on the day. The game is evenly poised at the end of the day’s play, and the first match of the all-important Ashes is anybody’s for the taking.