On a turbulent first day of the third and final Test in Sydney, Pakistan managed to rally from a precarious 47/4 deficit and score a formidable 313 in spite of a fifer by Pat Cummins. Following the Australian pacers’ destruction of the top order, Pakistan appeared to regain control of the batting innings only twice. Initially, during the middle session, they amassed 124 runs, with Mohammad Rizwan scoring 88 with great ease. Then, in the dying stages, Aamer Jamal’s counterattacking debut fifty-plus prevented the hosts from capturing the final wicket. Between innings, Cummins delivered his third consecutive fifer, which only slightly lost its luster due to the arduous conditions the hosts endured in the final session.
David Warner was forced to watch his farewell Test until the final over when the visitors elected to bat first at the SCG on a sunny morning after Shaheen Afridi was unexpectedly rested. But the beginning was anything but what they had hoped for. Pakistan was reduced to 39/3 after Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Cummins all struck with their second deliveries of the morning and his second over, respectively.
On the second delivery of the innings, Starc enticed Abdullah Shafique into an expansive drive; the Pakistani opener paid the price for attempting such a foolhardy shot so early. Saim Ayub, making his début and replacing an out-of-form Inam-ul-Haq, then took the edge with a well-executed length ball stolen from Hazlewood with a slight nib. Babar Azam appeared at ease during the turbulent start and even hinted at a few impressive strokes, but Cummins used DRS to overturn the LBW decision after a full ball that swung in abruptly and pinged the former captain on the pads. Additionally, during his debut over bowling, Cummins caused Saud Shakeel to miscue a length ball that maintained its trajectory outside off the boundary, further aggravating Pakistan’s situation by reducing them to 47/4.
At 75/4, Rizwan joined Shan Masood in the middle order, guiding Pakistan to lunch unscathed; however, the captain failed to endure long after the interval. Steve Smith erred at second slip, and Masood was awarded a life on 32 only because Mitchell Marsh overstepped. However, the aforementioned duo combined once more in an identical dismissal, limiting Masood to three additional runs added to his total.
Rizwan and Salman Agha, who joined forces at a perilous 96/5, contributed to Pakistan’s comeback with a 94-run partnership that shaped the tone of their innings after lunch. Rizwan propelled his team past the 100-mark with a pair of fours early in the afternoon. Rizwan, despite Salman’s initial caution, remained active and demonstrated his complete repertoire of strokes by driving and sweeping Nathan Lyon to the boundary before reaching his ninth Test fifty with a draw off Hazlewood’s first delivery subsequent to refreshments.
Particularly, Lyon was prevented from settling in during his second term, as both Salman and Rizwan continued to fetch frequent boundaries with their feet to great effect. Rizwan entered the seventies by slogging-sweeping the spinner for a second six. Cummins rejoined the attack as the boundaries continued to flow readily and, for the fifteenth time in the series, almost immediately provided his team with the breakthrough they needed. Rizwan failed to deliver a pull to Hazlewood at the boundary after mishitting a short ball that was precisely aimed at him. Despite playing so well throughout his innings, Rizwan fell twelve runs short of a deserving hundred.
Australia appeared to be regaining control of the match through Tea’s crucial scalp stroke, but Cummins solidified their lead early in the final session by finishing his fifer. As a result of his sustained use of the short ball strategy, Sajid Khan and Hasan Ali both left without consequence. Although Salman was also dismissed with a comparable short ball from Starc, he did so prior to having scored his own fifty.
Australia was in the driver’s position following the 4 for 37 implosions, but Jamal decided to alter the course once more. He frustrated the host team for 22.1 overs, collaborating with Mir Hamza for an ideal second fiddle partnership of 86 off the last delivery he faced (scoring seven off 43 deliveries).
Jamal, who earlier in the inaugural Test of the series hit a Sixer on his début, demonstrated remarkable determination with the bat during his 97-ball innings. Despite receiving a few reprieves due to Australia’s inability to seize challenging opportunities, he confronted the host team’s short-ball strategy directly when Hazlewood and Cummins were all targeted. Jamal, who combined aggressiveness and caution in his counterattacking 82, struck four sixes, sparing neither Lyon nor part-timer Marnus Labuschagne. He reached fifty off 71 balls with the second of three fours in an expensive over from Starc that cost 13 runs, before storming into Lyon in his subsequent overs with two sixes and numerous fours to reach the eighties.
Jamal ultimately lost his wicket to long-on after skidding down the pitch to take on the opposition. However, he left to a standing ovation after guiding Pakistan to a respectable score in their first innings, notwithstanding his failure to reach a personal milestone.
Warner emerged to enthusiastic audience acclaim and a guard of honor presented by the opposing team. The first ball he hit was a beautiful boundary through the covers, and he survived a near miss on the penultimate delivery, almost slicing it back onto his stumps as Australia proceeded to stumps at six without losing.
