A cussed Marnus Labuschagne weathered a storm to assist steer Australia to 187/3 on a rain-disrupted opening day of the second Test in Melbourne on Tuesday towards a probing and resilient Pakistan assault.
At stumps, Labuschagne was unbeaten on a glacial 44 off 120 balls, and Travis Head was batting on 9 after practically three hours of play was misplaced to rain.
Pakistan’s bowlers discovered loads of motion within the overcast situations and have been rewarded with the wickets of David Warner (38), Usman Khawaja (42) and Steve Smith (26).
But a affected person Labuschagne was immovable because the host look to seal the three-Test collection after thumping the customer by 360 runs in Perth.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood received the toss and opted to bowl first on a pitch suited to the seamers. Spearheaded by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan bowled an excellent size and located early swing, with Warner dropped on two by Abdullah Shafique, who put down a regulation catch at second slip.
Warner, who made 164 within the first innings at Perth in his farewell Test collection, was additionally lucky to get away with an edge that sailed over the slips for a boundary on 17.
His luck ran out with a rash shot off part-time spinner Agha Salman within the last over earlier than lunch, with Babar Azam holding a catch at slip off a thick outdoors edge.
Warner’s long-time opening associate Khawaja has been embroiled in a dispute with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over how he can deliver consideration to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
He was denied a bid to show a sticker displaying a black dove holding an olive department on his bat and as an alternative performed with the names of his daughters on his footwear.
The 37-year-old hit a boundary off the second ball he confronted and appeared destined for a giant rating earlier than speedster Hasan Ali, again within the workforce after being ignored for Perth, drew an edge that Salman took properly within the slips to depart Australia on 108/2.
With darkish clouds overhead, the lights have been turned on mid-afternoon with Labuschagne and Smith in survival mode because the bowlers turned the screws earlier than the rain arrived.
The situations ultimately cleared and play resumed in entrance of a sparse crowd, with lots of the 62,000 followers giving up and going residence. Smith and Labuschagne continued to play defensively, with runs onerous to come back by.
Labuschagne lastly relieved some strain when Aamer Jamal was introduced on, hitting his first boundary in 75 balls, with the grin on his face telling a narrative.
It was equally sluggish going for Smith, who was given out leg earlier than wicket on 19 after a giant shout from Afridi, however a evaluate confirmed the ball going excessive.
He was much less lucky towards Jamal quickly after. The umpire ignored an enchantment from wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for a catch, however Pakistan reviewed, and it confirmed a faint edge, ending a 147-ball partnership.
Source web site: sportstar.thehindu.com
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