AUS V SA, 2nd Test: Australia Declares At 575/8, Get 386 Runs Lead Against The Proteas

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AUS vs SA: After a mammoth lead of 386 runs against South Africa, the Australian side declared their first inning on 575 for 8 wickets down on the third day of the Boxing day test here at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Australian batter played brilliantly and kept frustrating South African bowlers by easily making runs. David Warner playing his 100th test match registered a double ton before getting retired hurt due to a hamstring.

Warner played with the visiting bowlers as he smacked 200 runs in 255 balls with 16 fours and 2 sixes. 

Steven Smith was the other batter to look out for as he got a well-deserved fourth-wicket partnership of 239 runs, including 85 runs by Smith. 

Apart from them, keeper batter Alex Carey showed gritty intent and thrashed 111 runs including 13 fours. Travis Head (51 runs) and Cameron Green (51 runs) scored the fifties and also made important partnerships for the team. 

South African bowlers tried hard to put down the Aussie team in the final session on day three. Anrich Nortje (3/92) scalped the leading wickets for the Proteas team, and Kagiso Rabada clinched 2/144.

Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen got one wicket each. Experience Spinner Keshav Maharaja looked ordinary and went wicket-less.

Earlier in the first inning, Australia bundled South Africa to 189. Cameron Green was the star for the home team as he registered a 5 wicket haul. 

For South Africa, Kyle Verreynne scored 52 runs whereas Marco Jansen made the highest number of 59 runs for the team.