Australia's
Flickr photo by Matthew F shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND 2.0) license.

Australia’s resolute finish keeps Pakistan at bay

Mustafa Ismail·
Test
·1 Comment·

Despite conceding a 280-run deficit in the first innings, Australia’s batsmen managed to bat through more than a day to save the game…

For three days of the test match, Pakistan were absolutely dominating Australia with bat and ball. It seemed only a matter of time before the Pakistani bowlers wrapped up the encounter. Australia’s middle order looked fragile, losing 10 wickets for just 60-odd runs in the first innings. Fans were expecting a repeat in the second innings as well. The pitch also began wearing down on the 5th day, providing a lot of turn and bounce for the spinners and reverse swing for the fast bowlers. However, despite the conditions, the batsmen dug in and made life difficult for Pakistan.

Usman Khawaja was marvellous. Despite previously being dropped from Australia’s tours to the subcontinent due to his struggles against spin, he held the fort for the Aussies as they looked to salvage a draw. He used his feet brilliantly against both spinners and pacers, while retracting onto the back-foot when needed. This evidently disturbed the length of the Pakistani bowlers. Whether it was pulling out the reverse sweep against Yasir Shah or coming down the track to Mohammed Abbas (who was bowling a deadly spell at the time), Khawaja looked in control and was determined to stay at the wicket. His defensive technique was solid as well – and even though he was beaten quite a few times, he wasn’t intent on throwing his wicket away on a tricky pitch.

Travis Head and Tim Paine supported Khawaja brilliantly as they took their time to settle in and then pushed through the tough overs. Head learnt from his mistake in the first innings and improved defensively. He also played some positive shots when the loose balls were provided. Paine played the innings of his life as he carried the tail and helped secure a draw after a very nervous ending. Pakistan had only two wickets left to take and the fielders crowded Paine and Lyon. In the end, Australia’s players will take a lot of pride and confidence going into the next test. They grabbed a draw from the jaws of defeat, and that too without their two premier batsmen in Steve Smith and David Warner.

Pakistan batted and bowled magnificently in the first two innings of the game. Mohammed Hafeez, Imam ul Haq, and Bilal Asif proved to be the stand-out performers. Bilal was particularly impressive with his six-wicket haul as he bowled the ball in the right areas and got enough turn and bounce to deceive the Australian batsmen. Pakistan were not as commanding with the bat in the second innings, but that was understandable given their pursuit of quick runs on a wearing surface.

However, their second innings bowling performance was very disappointing. With the exception of Mohammed Abbas, none of the bowlers were consistent enough in the morning session of the fifth day. Wahab Riaz was very poor and Yasir Shah was only unlucky when it came to one clear LBW decision as neither bowler provided enough opportunities on a fifth-day track. Apart from the end when he could sniff victory, Sarfaraz was also a bit too defensive with his field setting. As captain, he needs to show patience and avoid getting agitated after every mistake on the field.

Overall, it was a great test match and both sides played high quality cricket. Let’s hope for another nail-biting match in the second test. Australia will have the confidence, but they need to keep in mind that this Pakistani team can be very lethal in these conditions.