Australia batsman Matthew Wade may have copped some criticism for losing his wicket in his attempt to be overly aggressive but his act of sportsmanship and lovely gesture towards India batsman Hanuma Vihari before that earned him high praise on Twitter.
Wade, who walked out to bat after Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Marnus Labuschagne for 91 on Day 2 of the third Test in Sydney, started his innings aggressively resorting to sweep shots to counter Jadeja.
While the sweep shots did fetch Wade some quick runs, it brought Hanuma Vihari in the firing line. Vihari, who was standing at forward short leg all the while, was hit thrice by Wade’s booming sweep shots.
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The Australian left-hander was mindful of the fact and he immediately went to check on Vihari after his first sweep shot hit the India right-hander, forcing the latter to call for the physio.
Wade was seen doing a fist dab with Vihari after the India batsman got up to take his position at short leg again.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Wade’s act of sportsmanship
India picked up three wickets in the first session of Day 2. After Jadeja got rid of Labuschagne(91) and Wade(13), Jasprit Bumrah pitched in with the new ball to trap all-rounder Cameron Green lbw for a 21-ball duck and bring an end to the extended session.
India vs Australia live score and updates 3rd Test Day 2
Labuschagne had appeared to be cruising towards his fifth test century when he was undone by a little extra bounce and edged the ball to India skipper Ajinkya Rahane in the slips.
His partnership with Smith was worth 100 runs which, with a neat symmetry, was exactly the same number of runs as he put on for the second wicket with debutant Will Pucovski on Thursday.
Smith’s stand with Wade had totalled only 26 runs when his partner stepped aggressively down the track but only managing to get a leading edge which ballooned the ball to Bumrah at mid-on.
Labuschagne’s dismissal leaves Australia still without a century in the series, which is tied 1-1 after the first two tests in Adelaide and Melbourne.
Smith, looking to have rediscovered his form after scoring only 10 runs in his previous four innings, will do his best to remedy that when he resumes for the second session.
There was an early start on Friday after four hours of play were lost to rain on day one and the weather again disrupted the action with two brief delays as showers swept across the ground.
The overcast conditions contributed to a muted atmosphere at a ground sparsely populated by a socially-distanced crowd of fewer than 10,000 fans all obliged to wear face masks.
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