Watch: Anrich Nortje uproots Steve Smith’s middle-stump with an absolute ‘snorter’

Australia and South Africa are facing off in the first Test of the three-match contest that started on December 17, Saturday and it was an equally-poised day as both teams struggled to keep going with the pacers from both teams coming out on top. To add more, the Proteas were bowled out for 152 in their first innings and in reply, Australians remained at 145/5 at the stumps. 

Steve Smith’s wicket caught the eye of the fans as it took an unplayable delivery from Anrich Nortje to send the talented batter back to the pavilion. After a brief stay in the crease, trying to lift the team from the initial hiccup, Smith made his way back to the dressing room post adding 36 runs to Australia’s scoreboard. 

Watch Steve Smith’s wicket here:

South Africa shine with ball on Day 1

Concerning the match, South Africa were forced to bat first and their batting collapsed right from the start, with Kyle Verreynne top scoring with the bat with his fighting 64. Eventually, the Proteas were bowled out right after reaching the 150-run mark and looked in deep trouble early in the Test. 

However, the pacers did not let the team down as they bounced back to trouble the Baggy Greens’ batters in their first innings. It was the Nortje-Kagiso Rabada pace duo that rattled the mighty Australians with their blistering pace, letting the batters play all over the ball. David Warner was the first one to depart for Australia and the southpaw perished for a golden luck, failing to let the monkey off his back. 

However, despite the odds, the likes of Smith and Travis Head lifted the team when they were reeling at 27/3 and put on a 117-run partnership for the 4th wicket until Nortje spoiled the party with the mighty delivery to the Australian veteran. Head, on the other hand, remained unbeaten at 78 and it remained to be seen if Australia could get a decent lead and make a stong comeback in the game that looked poised at the end of the day.