Australia’s Steve Smith celebrates after scoring a century throughout play on the second day of the primary cricket Check between Australia and the West Indies in Perth, Australia on December 1, 2022
| Photograph Credit score: AP
Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 114 to equal Donald Bradman’s 29 Check centuries and assist Australia tighten its grip on the opening cricket Check in opposition to the West Indies on Thursday.
Marnus Labuschagne (204) fell to the final ball earlier than lunch on the second day as Australia went into the break on 402-3, ending a 251-run stand for the third wicket.
Labuschagne, who smashed quick bowler Jayden Seales for his twentieth boundary to deliver up the milestone, fell when he edged offspinner Roston Chase as wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva lastly held onto a catch having dropped Labuschagne twice on 132 and 194.
Australia resumed the second day on 293-2 with Labuschagne on 154 and Smith on 59, and the West Indies determined for a breakthrough in cloudy situations conducive for swing bowling.
As an alternative, Labuschagne and Smith continued from the place they left off in a single day and stubbornly piled up the distress on the vacationers, taking the sport away with every run.
Smith batted flawlessly to equal the previous Australia batting legend Bradman in his 88th Check look. Solely Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30) have scored extra a whole bunch for Australia.
Smith was extra circumspect and hit simply 9 boundaries in his century that got here off 179 balls. It was Smith’s second century within the area of three innings following his 145 not out in opposition to Sri Lanka in Galle in July this 12 months.
Labuschagne’s double century is his second since his 215 in opposition to New Zealand in Sydney in January 2020. He batted for 483 minutes and hit a six and 20 fours of 350 balls.
After shedding opener David Warner cheaply on the primary morning, Labuschagne partnered opener Usman Khawaja (65) in a 142-run second-wicket stand to arrange the innings.
Australia gained the toss and elected to bat first within the first of two Assessments. The second Check, a day-night sport, will probably be performed in Adelaide starting December 8.
