The start of the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has not been the best one for the visitors. The Kangaroos were three wickets down by the end of the first session on Day 1 of the match being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. While pacer Mohammed Shami drew the first blood, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin followed it up with two wickets in the same over.
He got the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne on the 4th ball of the 23rd over and followed it with Steve Smith's wicket on the last ball of the same over. The second wicket, however, caught everyone's attention as Smith departed without adding a single run to the board. He first played a dot ball and was caught behind on the next ball.
Ashwin bowled the slider, which continued with the angle. Smith pushed forward, looking for the turn. However, the ball maintained its angle and flicked the outside edge, resulting in a superb catch by Srikar Bharat. The ball stayed low, and the Indian keeper easily grabbed it. Smith knew he'd edged it and did not wait for the umpire's decision to walk back to the pavilion.
In the meantime, fans were thrilled with the dismissal as they knew what Smith could have done had he stayed longer. "Iron cuts Iron. GOAT dismisses GOAT," a user wrote on Twitter. On the other hand, some users trolled Smith for closely checking the pitch a night before the match went underway.
Earlier, Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first. "The middle looks like there's grass but bare at both ends. Plenty of turn there, will be a good Test," he stated as the reason for his decision.
The Rohit Sharma-led team leads the four-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test in Nagpur. They will now look to win here as well in order to maintain the series lead.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Steve Smith's dismissal
— Nikhil🇮🇳 (@nikhil_Xd_7) February 17, 2023
No thumbs up this time 😂
— Aaditya18 (@AadityaVarma17) February 17, 2023
Iron cuts Iron
— Saptarshi (@CockerelRoyals) February 17, 2023
GOAT dismisses GOAT.
That catch from bharath isn't talked about enough
— gavara komal (@KomalGavara) February 17, 2023
Ash anna 🐐
— Yash (@71stcentury) February 17, 2023
Bas WTC final mey band na bajaye apni pehley he Eng mey khelrahe 😬🤐
— Rahul Singh (@RahulSinggghhh) February 17, 2023
RAVI ASHWIN be like 👌🤭 pic.twitter.com/OLcbrCzDXf
— Shakti Man 💥 (@IamShaktiMann) February 17, 2023
It's just the pitch conditions
— AdiThYA ChOwDArY👑 (@Thalaiva333) February 17, 2023
And even he don't no why that ball is not turned🤣🤣🤣
Good keeping by bharat 💥
— Ganthi ᴹᴬˢᵀᴱᴿ (@itz_Ganthi) February 17, 2023
If Ashwin can play five more years,he will easily surpass Muttaiah @ashwinravi99
— Shivaay (@Shivaay31470111) February 17, 2023