Nathan Lyon and Sam Konstas star in the second Test as Australia seal the series in Grenada

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As per Artificial Intelligence the Aussies are going to be the most dominant side in the second Test and will seal the series with a seven wicket win. Young and upcoming opener Sam Konstas and legendary off-spinner Nathan Lyon are the star performers of the penultimate game at Grenada.

‌Pitch and weather

The surface at Grenada was on the drier side and though the surface was easier to bat early on, the cracks and crevices opened up on Day three which helped the spinners a lot. While the weather was slightly cloudy on some days and there was slight chance of rain, the weather remained clear for the majority of the game.

Toss and Conditions

West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first.

Lineups

WI: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Brandon King, Roston Chase (c), Shai Hope (wk), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales.

AUS: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

Match Report

It was the West Indies who won the toss and chose to bat first at the National Cricket Stadium, St Georges. The West Indies batting seemed to be in a good position at one stage where Kraig Brathwaite (44 off 109) and Keacy Carty (61 off 92) steadied the innings before the former West Indies skipper was castled by an in-nipper by Australian skipper Pat Cummins. From here It was Nathan Lyon who started to cause problems for the West Indies batters taking a four-wicket haul and Josh Hazlewood cleaning up the tail in the end as the Windies were eventually bowled out for 278 in the end.

The Aussies started their innings on Day two and though veteran opener Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green once again failed to convert their starts, young 19-year-old Konstas played an incredible knock bringing up his maiden Test century scoring 102 off 163 deliveries. He was also supported by Steve Smith (58 off 101 deliveries) and Travis Head (89 off 95 deliveries) who played impressive knocks as well. Though Shamar and Alzarri Joseph’s spells made sure they restricted the Baggy Greens under 400 and bowled them out for 392, they still had a healthy lead of 114 in the end.

The second innings was turning out to be a disaster for the West Indies where Mitchell Starc started the proceedings on Day three with early scalps of John Campbell and Carty. Though Brandon King (67 off 84 deliveries) and skipper Roston Chase (42 off 89 deliveries) provided some resistance, they were no match for Lyon’s Guile who took his 25th five-wicket haul in Test cricket as ran through the middle order. Cummins and Starc made sure they cleaned up the tail to get the Caribbean Giants bowled out for 211 in the end giving the Aussies a target off just 98 in the end.

The target was chased down with ease early moring on the fifth and final day of the Test match. While there were a couple of early breakthroughs as Khawaja and Green were dismissed for low scores, Konstas, Smith and Head made sure they chased down the total with ease. With this win Pat Cummins and his men sealed the three-match series and will go 2-0 into the third Test match.

Player of the Match

While there were some incredible performances in the game, the player who stood out was Nathan Lyon. The legendary off-spinner once again showed us why he is one of the best spinners in the world taking four-fer in the first innings and a fifer in the second innings. He created problems for the West Indies batter skill and brilliance and ended with figures of 9/130 at the end of the match.