2nd Test: Da Silva, Hodge lead WI's fightback against Australia
Joshua Da Silva and Kavem Hodge starred for West Indies on the opening day of the second Test against Australia in Brisbane. The Windies top-order disappointed again as Mitchell Starc and others were sensational with the new pink cherry. However, both batters slammed half-centuries to bail their side out of trouble. WI were 266/8 at stumps on Day 1. Here are further details.
Fightback from WI duo
After losing skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (4) cheaply, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kirk McKenzie scored 21 apiece to take their side past 40. However, WI then lost four quick wickets and were eventually reduced to 64/5. Da Silva and Hodge then fought back with a 149-run stand for the sixth wicket. While Alzarri Joseph made 32, Kevin Sinclair (16) returned unbeaten.
350 scalps for Starc
Starc, who returned with 4/68, completed 350 Test wickets with his second scalp in the game. He became the fifth Australian to claim the milestone. Playing his 87th Test match, Starc has raced to 352 wickets, averaging above 27. This was his 20th four-wicket haul in Tests (5W: 14). Starc has claimed 28 wickets against the West Indies at an average above 19.
Maiden fifty for Kavem Hodge
Hodge, who made a 194-ball 71, made his Test debut in the series opener in Adelaide. He could only manage scores worth 3 and 12 in the game. Hence, this was his maiden fifty in the Test format. Overall, this was his 18th half-century in First-Class cricket as he has raced to 2,848 runs at an average of 28-plus. He boasts four tons.
1000 Test runs loading for Da Silva
Da Silva also batted sensibly and scored 79 off 157 balls. This was his fourth Test half-century as the tally also includes a solitary ton. Notably, Da Silva has raced to 985 runs at an average of 26.62. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old keeper hammered his maiden half-century against the Aussies.
Here are the other scripted records
Da Silva and Hodge's 149-run stand is now the joint-fourth-highest partnership for a WI pair (for sixth wicket or lower) in Australia. Meanwhile, the former's score of 79 is now the fifth-highest score by a designated WI keeper Down Under. It is also the highest Test score by a WI keeper in Australia since Ridley Jacobs's 96* in the 2000 Perth Test.
