The second session on Day 2 at the MCG felt like the quiet after the storm that was the morning session, with Australia bowlers keeping Pakistan at bay after the hosts were bowled out for 318. At 68/1, Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood drove the visitors to the Tea break.
The sun was shining brightly, but it didn’t guarantee perfect batting conditions because the ball moved around and there was an advantage to be gained by bowling the proper lengths. That’s exactly what Australia did, time and again, to keep Pakistan’s openers quiet early on. After their bowlers picked up seven wickets in the morning session, Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq were not in a hurry.
With their outstanding lengths, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc posed all the proper questions to the two hitters, even beating the outside edge a few times. Even as the scoreboard ticked slowly, Australia’s unrelenting lengths were greeted with some stoic batting. During the drinks break, Starc stated that there was enough surface to provide wicket-taking possibilities, and the quicks continued to do so before their spinner Nathan Lyon got the advantage. Lyon drew the left-handed Imam forward in the third over after drinks and got the ball to drift in and turn away quickly, bringing the outside edge to Marnus Labuschage at slip.
Shan Masood came out to bolster Pakistan’s resolve, bowling nine overs with Shafique to ensure they didn’t surrender the edge that their bowling and fielding gained them in a hectic morning session. The day began with Marnus Labuschagne poised to continue his tenacious knock, but quickly devolved into a frenzied stretch of play in which Australia scored runs and lost wickets at rapid speed. Shaheen Afridi got the ball moving early and took out Travis Head, while Aamer Jamal dismissed Labuschagne soon after he reached fifty.
Mitchell Marsh smashed a 41-ball 60, but Pakistan made inroads by being very good with their catches. While Mohammad Rizwan dismissed Alex Carey with a sharp, one-handed diving catch to his right, Starc, Lyon, and Cummins were all caught well in the deep. Pakistan’s speed trio of Afridi, Hamza, and Hasan Ali each took two wickets, while Jamal took three.
Brief Scores: Pakistan trail Australia by 250 runs at 68/1 (Marnus Labuschagne 63, Mitchell Marsh 41; Aamer Jamal 3-64, Mir Hamza 2-51, Hasan Ali 2-61, Shaheen Afridi 2-85).
