Australia v New Zealand 3rd Test Day 1 Review: Australia dominate the proceedings on a historic day for cricket

Australia v New Zealand 3^rd Test Day 1 Review: An eventful first day at the Adelaide of the first ever day and night Test match ended in favor of Australia, who negotiated past the New Zealand bowlers to end the day without many casualties. The home team ended with 54 on board for the loss of two wickets, with the captain and Voges sharing the crease. Earlier, thanks to a mid-innings collapse from the Black Caps, the visitors ended with just 202 runs on the board.

After winning the toss, McCullum decided to bat first on a decent batting wicket. Surprisingly, he included 2 spinners for this match, with Mitchell Santner making his debut. As far as Australia is concerned, Peter Siddle made his return into the playing XI, as James Pattinson missed out on a spot. The first ever wicket off the pink ball did fall soon enough, as Josh Hazelwood struck Martin Guptill plumb in front of wicket. A partnership was forming between the inform Kane Williamson and opener Tom Latham, but the former fell to Mitchell Starc.

Latham got past the half-century mark for the first time in the series, after a string of starts. He also found a stable partner in Ross Taylor, with the scorecard reading 80/2. The ball was not doing much off the pitch, and the visitors would have looked for a big target. After a tribute to Philip Hughes during the tea break, the match resumed. But a quick collapse, triggered by homeboy Nathan Lyon and Siddle, reduced the visitors to 98/5. The middle order crumbled thanks to some sensible bowling, and some incredible job behind the stumps by Phil Nevill.

Debutant Santner and Watling were hanging around, with the former unleashing an array of impressive strokes. He eventually fell to Starc, who limped away with an ankle problem a while after taking his wicket. Lyon struck yet again before dinner, and the Black Caps went to dinner with 173 on the board for the loss of 7 wickets.

Post dinner session was a mere formality for the home team, as they wrapped up the NZ innings within an hour. Siddle joined the 200 wicket club after he picked up Bracewell. The Kiwis were eventually folded up for a below par total of 202. Latham top scored for the visitors with a 50 while Mitchell Starc was yet again the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/24.

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In front of a crowd exceeding 47k in number, the Aussies came on to bat. Boult and Southee started off exceptionally, with the former picking out Warner cheaply. Burns fell soon after, as he dragged one onto the stumps off Bracewell. But the captain and Voges were sturdy, and the Aussies ended the day without any more damage.

Summary:

An excellent day of Test cricket is how exactly the first day of the first ever day-night Test match can be defined. With the ball behaving perfectly without any visibility or wear-tear problems, it was an entertaining day of cricket, which eventually ended with Australia having an upper hand. But the conditions aren’t a piece of cake, and it will be interesting as to how the Aussies go about with their innings.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand – 202/10 (Latham 50, Santner 31; Starc 3-24)

Australia – 54/2 (Smith 24*, Burns 14; Bracewell 1-6)