Published 18:03 IST, November 30th 2019
STUNNERS: Paine turns Superman, Smith takes improbable grab as Aussies pile misery on Pak
Tim Paine put on a display of quick reflexes and brilliant fielding in the 2nd Test as he grabbed on to a blinder behind the stumps to dismiss Iftikhar Ahmed
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Continuing to dominate Pakistan in the second Test at Adelaide, the Australian team has put up a top-notch performance in all aspects of the day. Right from David Warner's striking knock of 335 to a fiery spell by Mitchel Starc to reduce Pakistan to a mere 96/6 at stumps on day 2, Australia have ticked all boxes in the match so far. While Warner starred in batting and Starc led the bowling attack, captain Tim Paine put on a display of quick reflexes and brilliant fielding. Paine grabbed on to a blinder behind the stumps to send Iftikhar Ahmed back to the pavilion and hand teammate Starc another wicket. Skipper Paine stretched out and dived towards his right to grab the knicked ball at first slip.
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Here is the spectacular catch by Paine:
Smith joins the party
It is impossible to leave ace batsman Steve Smith out of any Australian game. If the former captain could not produce another scintillating knock, he resorted to produce a brilliant display of fielding and add to the woes of Pakistan. The Australian star batsman broke legend Don Bradman's 73-year-old record to become the fastest individual to reach 7000 runs in just 126 innings. Steve Smith became the eleventh Australian player to reach 7000 runs as he batted along with David Warner to put pressure on Pakistan on Day two of the pink-ball Test.
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Starc Goes Berserk
Australia's pace spearheaded Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc on the Pakistan batting line-up as the visitors were reduced to 96-6 at the end of the day's play. Australia declared their innings after posting a mammoth total of 589 runs, thanks to David Warner's maiden Test triple ton. Mitchell Starc was right on the money and struck gold in the fourth over as he got rid of Imam-ul-Haq. Starc then picked up two wickets off the 31st over to send Ifthikar Ahmed and Rizwan packing. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood grabbed one wicket each as Pakistan ended Day 2 on a very dry note, with just four wickets left.
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Updated 18:45 IST, November 30th 2019