On the third day of the first Test in Perth, the Australian attack proved too much for the Pakistani batsmen, who ended the first session of play on Saturday with 203/6 behind them under Shan Masood’s leadership. Day 3 saw the hosts make early gains when captain Pat Cummins worked over night watchman Khurram Shahzad. Meanwhile, opener Imam-ul-Haq, who fought valiantly on Day 2 and was undefeated at stumps, was unable to add to a big score.
Babar Azam, the former captain of Pakistan who resigned from the position following the country’s disastrous performance in the ODI World Cup earlier this year, also struggled with willow. Mitchell Marsh, an all-rounder, took him for just 21 off 54 balls.
Imam’s unyielding innings, meanwhile, was ended when Lyon removed him for a tame 62 in the 75th over. With 284 runs still owed to the visitors after the first session, the hosts fully took control of the match and claimed four wickets.
When play resumed, the Australians would aim to quickly overwhelm the visitors and extend their lead. Even though they were six runs behind at the end of the first session, Pakistan still has some batting left to draw even with Australia’s score from the first innings.
After an explosive century from opener David Warner (164 in 211 balls, with 16 fours and four sixes) and 90 off 107 balls from Marsh (15 fours and a six), Australia began day two at 346/5.
Travis Head and Usman Khawaja both made significant contributions, scoring 40 and 41, respectively.
As he descended the order, Australia reached a massive 487 runs in 113.2 overs thanks to the important 34 runs added by keeper Alex Carey.
In his first Test match, Aamer Jamal (6/111) was the visitor’s preferred bowler. In their first innings, Pakistan finished the day on 132/2 in 53 overs, with Imam Ul Haq (38) and Khurram Shehzad (7) both remaining unbeaten at the wicket.
Abdullah Shafique, the opener, could not sustain his run of 42 off 121 balls, six fours. Before he fell, Masood also appeared to be playing well, scoring 30 runs off 43 balls and five fours. In brief, Pakistan defeated Australia 203/6 (Agha Salman 4* and Saud Shakeel 12*).
