A few hours before England scripted a historic and memorable win over India in Hyderabad, 9443 kms away the Gabba in Brisbane became witnessed to yet another thriller. Australia lost the pink-ball Test for the first time in 12 matches and more importantly, West Indies registered their first win down under since 1997 in the format. Also, this was the first time they beat Australia in Tests since 2003.
Chasing 216 runs, the hosts were skittled for 207 as the West Indies won the game by eight runs despite opener Steve Smith trying his best to take his side over the line. For the first time in four innings, he found his feet as an opener only to remain stranded on 91 as Australia lost the Test match. Interestingly, exactly 12 years ago, in December 2011, David Warner was the last Australian opener to carry his bat in a losing cause for his country in red-ball cricket, against New Zealand.
The match was played at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart and while chasing 241 runs, the home side had lost by seven runs and it turned out to be New Zealand's first win in Australia in the format in 26 years. In the second innings, chasing a score, Warner had remained unbeaten on 123 runs while all his teammates got out from the other end.
Fastr forward to January 2024, Steve Smith found himself a similar position, the opposition was West Indies and the venue, the Gabba in Brisbane. But arguably Australia's best Test batsman couldn't change the narrative as his side went down in a Test by less than 10 runs, an opener carried the bat remaining unbeaten till the end. Moreover, the win also was the first for the Carribean side in Australia in 26 years.
Moreover, the Test match vs New Zealand in 2011 was also the second for Warner as opener much like Smith against the West Indies in the Gabba Test. Unfortunately both Smith and Warner couldn't win a Test for Australia despite playing a knock defying the odds.
