Watch: Joshua Da Silva had a near-miss during the early stages of his heroic fightback against Australia, falling over just past his stumps as he evaded a bouncer.
The wicketkeeper came in with West Indies in trouble. Having been bowled out for 188 and 120 to lose the first Test by 10 wickets, they slipped to 64-5 in the second, Mitchell Starc running riot with three early scalps.
But Da Silva, along with No.5 Kavem Hodge, put on a rousing rescue act. The pair added 149, the highest ever partnership against Australia in a day/night Test, before Da Silva was pinned lbw by Nathan Lyon for 79.
The stand was not without alarm. Having raced to 20, Da Silva was almost tempted into attacking a bouncer from Josh Hazlewood but pulled out at the last moment. That might have been a wise decision, but the gloveman couldn’t prevent himself from losing balance, ending up rolling onto his back as he narrowly evaded the stumps.
He regathered his composure to play a memorable hand, one that has kept West Indies in with a chance of levelling the series. There was a stark contrast to England’s approach in Hyderabad – West Indies faced 25 more overs for just 20 more runs – showing that there is more than one way to play Test cricket.
Watch Joshua Da Silva fall over evading a bouncer below:
To hook or not to hook – that is the question! #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/WFgAKae1fL
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 25, 2024
