After the third day of play in Melbourne, Australia came out of a tight corner to maintain control of the second Test. Their ability to maintain control over Pakistan while they were still fighting was greatly aided by Mitchell Marsh’s 96.
Australia was soon reduced to 16/4 at one stage after Pat Cummins’ five-for gave them a 54-run advantage in the first innings. Afridi, attempting to deflect the left-hander, had Usman Khawaja nicking behind before strangling Marnus Labuschagne down the legside in his next over. This essentially put Australia at 60/2 before lunchtime, and the trend persisted after the interval.
David Warner was being chopped by Hamza as he attempted to pull, ending his last innings at the MCG for only six runs. Then, with a nasty ball that nipped in, he castled Travis Head to give Pakistan the finger. Pakistan was almost back on top of the game at 16/4.
If Mitchell Marsh hadn’t been dropped in the next over, or if an edge from Smith hadn’t gone short of slip, things may have gone differently. But the pair soon realized the cost of their errors and began to defend themselves with a strong stand.
At the other end, Smith held firm as Marsh reached his seventh Test fifty off only 70 balls. Together, they put on a resilient 163-run stand to guarantee Australia’s lead was sound once again. Smith did little wrong, making sure Pakistan could not easily retrace their steps, while Marsh dashed towards a ton in front of his family, who were waiting anxiously.
Unfortunately, Marsh and Smith both missed their tons by four runs before the end of the day’s play, with Smith’s departure from Pakistan having once again raised expectations due to stumping.
Because it was Cummins who held the fort at the beginning of the day, playing with the batters and getting the ball to seam in and out. By trapping Mohammad Rizwan in a situation where two guys were standing near to one another at a brief additional cover, he took advantage of his propensity to play uppishly through covers. With that wicket at 215 it looked as though Pakistan would blow the innings open, but Aamer Jamal and Shaheen Afridi kept them in the hunt.
When needed, the latter employed the long handle as Pakistan’s inferior order reduced the deficit. Nathan Lyon provided strong assistance for Cummins, as he defeated Afridi with an arm ball to break a 35-run partnership. Additionally, the pair claimed the final two wickets, bowling Hasan Ali past his defense and outstumping Mir Hamza to give Lyon his fourth and give Australia the advantage.
Brief Scores:
Australia 318 (Marnus Labuschagne 63, Mitchell Marsh 41; Aamer Jamal 3-64, Mir Hamza 2-51, Hasan Ali 2-61, Shaheen Afridi 2-85) & 187/6 (Mitchell Marsh 96, Steve Smith 50; Shaheen Afridi 3-58, Mir Hamza 3-27) lead Pakistan 264 (Abdullah Shafique 62, Shan Masood 54; Pat Cummins 5-48, Nathan Lyon 4-73)
by 241 runs
