Ashes | Twitter reacts as Tongue stuns Smith with Boxing Day jaffa to sound him death rattle

Gantavya Adukia

ByGantavya Adukia,SportsCafe Editor

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If the numbers are to be believed, Steve Smith falls victim in Test cricket every 56 runs on average, making him the best Test batter of the generation. Yet even his talent had no answer to a peach Josh Tongue produced in the first session of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Friday.

Steve Smith failed to survive a fiery Josh Tongue for Australia against England on Day 1 of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne

England showed their will to fight early in the fourth Test as they reduced Australia to 72/4 by the end of the first session, having already lost the series 3-0, Gus Atkison got the ball rolling with the scalp of Travis Head after the opener had struck a couple of boundaries to announce his intentions, before Josh Tongue had Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne nick behind to the cordon in the space of a couple of overs. Spitting heat and with his tail up, the pacer's job was not yet done as Australian skipper and prized asset Steve Smith walked out to bat, and Tongue made sure he gave England exactly what they needed.

Smith walked in in the 12th over and got off to a cautious start, before lathering a couple of gorgeous boundaries to settle some nerves. However, Gus Atkinson kept hammering down persistently on a challenging length in the channel to trouble the talisman, setting up Tongue to breach the defences. In the 20th over, after his counterpart had played 30 deliveries for nine runs, Tongue went a little fuller around the fourth stump line to lure Smith into a drive, only for the Kookaburra to jag back in sharply after pitching and leave the batter in hot water. All Smith could do was watch as the red cherry split the gap between his bat and pad to crash into the stumps, sounding Smith the death rattle at a crucial juncture in Australia's opening effort. The veteran looked at the pitch in surprise as he animatedly explained to himself how he got done beforre beginning his slow trudge back to the pavilion.

Twitterati was up in arms. 

Good one

Decline

Embarrassing!

Walks out!

Never ever

Didn't he

Wow

Punchable

Again!

Too good

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