With the toss getting delayed, both the captains were impatient with the excitement of the pink ball game.
Soon after the delay, the England captain won the toss and allowed the hosts to bat in such overhead conditions. With Australia coming to bat the England pacers were boosted up after the last game survival, which ended in a draw.
The first two hours of today’s game was full of drama and unexpected moments. David Warner surviving for 21 balls, got ducked in the 22nd ball by Robinson, which forced Warner to nick and send the ball in the hands of slip fielder – Zak Crawley.
Soon after David Warner’s wicket, when Australia were 7-1, Labuschagne might have gone cheaply, only if Zak Crawley’s excitement could have stopped him from taking captain Root’s catch. Australian player Labuschagne survived then.
Just after three overs, Usman Khawaja was forced to nick in the hands of Root in the first slip. And this time Crawley’s excitement was under control.
With Australia at 7-2, Smith came down with responsibility as Australians were struggling. We witnessed Labuschagne initiate scoring runs via boundary and taking the team scores in balance. But soon then Smith too got caught cheaply, playing just two balls and Robinson had his second.
With Mark Wood and Chris Woakes coming in for England, captain Root thought of taking the whole team down cheaply. Labuschagne with a different mindset, made fans watch a T20 game with this pink ball, hitting for boundaries and turning up the score for his team.
A good knock by Labuschagne came to end after Root decided to bring back the pacer in form Stuart Broad, who just before the Dinner Break bowled Labuschagne with a bizarre dismissal.
The score at Dinner Break stands at 85-4 with the top 4 and well-experienced batsmen of Australia already back to the pavilion. England pacers might hope for a five-for. Getting hit by Labuschagne, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood might too hope to come back in the game, with few wickets in their hands.
