Australia vs Pakistan: Hosts make convincing start before tight bowling and rain restricts them to 187-3
On Tuesday, the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan began with a strong performance by Australia. However, most of the play was interrupted by rain and Pakistan's bowling successfully limited Australia to a score of 187-3 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
On Wednesday, Marnus Labuschagne (44 not out) and Travis Head (nine runs without getting out) will continue their partnership, which has already accumulated 33 runs without losing any wickets. Their efforts will contribute to the home team's attempt to clinch the series victory with one more test to go.
Two weeks ago, Australia won the first Test match against Pakistan by a huge 360 runs in Perth. Nathan Lyon achieved a milestone by taking his 500th wicket in Test cricket.
Being placed to bat on a challenging green wicket in Melbourne, Australia aimed to make the most of their local advantage. David Warner and Usman Khawaja opened and successfully scored 90 runs from 163 deliveries.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mir Hamza, who are both left-arm seamers from Pakistan, used their skills to make the ball move in different directions and cause problems for the Australian openers.
Warner, who will soon retire from Test cricket, had a stroke of luck in the penultimate Test match. He almost lost his wicket when he nicked the ball from Afridi, but fortunately for him, the Pakistani player at slip, Abdullah Shafique, failed to catch it.
Warner left the pitch just before lunch. He was trying to hit a ball that was too far away from him, from spinner Agha Salman (1-5), and he accidentally hit it to Babar Azam in the slips.
After facing a ban from displaying support for the Gaza crisis on his shoes, Usman Khawaja wrote his daughter's names on them instead. However, his efforts were short-lived as he was only able to stay in the game for six more overs before he was caught by Salman Agha from a delivery by fast bowler Hasan Ali, bringing his score to 42.
Labuschagne and Steve Smith collaborated for a 46-run alliance partnership, but the torrential downpour prompted an early tea break and caused most of the 62,167 spectators to leave.
When the game resumed, Afridi appeared to have successfully caught Smith in the leg before wicket (lbw) but a review indicated that the ball was actually going over the stumps. Consequently, Smith, the Australian batsman, remained in the game with a score of 19.
Nevertheless, Smith's joyful innings came to an end when he was caught behind by Aamer Jamal (1-47) and the Decision Review System (DRS) confirmed that he had touched the ball before Muhammad Rizwan caught it.
"Warner's Rough Beginning"
The first batsman, David Warner (age 38), from Australia:
"It was quite difficult. The placement of the ball by the opposing team was effective at testing our defensive strategies while on the offensive. We experienced a significant number of attempts at striking the ball that did not result in success," commented Warner.
They didn't provide us with many complimentary items, which was something I noticed they were more generous with in Perth. As a result, the beginning was challenging.
The upcoming second Test match will continue from December 27th to December 30th, and afterward, both teams will travel to Sydney for the final Test match scheduled from January 2nd to January 7th, 2024.
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