Australia took Nathan Lyon‘s 500th Test wicket on Sunday when they overcame a struggling Pakistan for just 89 runs. In Perth, Australia easily won the Perth Test by a margin of 360 runs.
The match concluded in four days, with the spin wizard and the host team’s potent pace attack shattering Pakistan’s slim hopes of winning their first Test match in Australia since 1995.
Lyon defeated the visitors 2–18 despite requiring 450 points. Both Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc claimed three wickets.
Lyon was trapped at 499 after Pakistan’s first innings until Faheem Ashraf was dismissed for a leg before the wicket. However, the examination wait was uncomfortable. After that, he removed Aamer Jamal in the same over, becoming one of seven players to join Shane Warne and Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in an elite club.
Australia defeated Pakistan for 271 in their opening innings before declaring at 233-5 on the fourth day in response to the hosts’ 487.
Captain Pat Cummins made the call after opening batsman Usman Khawaja was out for a valiant ninety-nine on a surface that was beginning to fall apart. He and Mitchell Marsh combined for 126 runs.
Marsh, at sixty-three, remained unbeaten, although Pakistan had eliminated Travis Head and Steve Smith earlier in the day, providing them with a fleeting hope that soon faded.
Although they knew they would have a difficult chase, they started badly when Abdullah Shafique was removed for two in the first over after edging a ball that Starc was unable to play to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Shan Masood’s first Test match as captain did not last long, as Carey defeated him off Hazlewood, leaving his team down badly, 17-2.
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In addition, Starc dismissed Imam-ul-Haq, trapping him for 10 runs prior to the recuperation of Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam.
But as Azam failed to beat Cummins on 14, Carey made the catch again, shattering their hopes.
Following tea, Agha Salman was needlessly run out, and Sarfaraz Ahmed was dismissed after only six balls after being caught by Marsh at gully off Starc.
Then Lyon displayed his skill, and Hazlewood finished the tail.
Australia had returned, with Khawaja on 34 and Smith on 43, to lead 84–2.
Pitch cracks made conditions difficult early on, giving Pakistan’s quick bowlers the freedom to frighten the bat and wreak havoc.
In the fourth over of the day, Khurram Shahzad, a promising rookie, made a breakthrough when he trapped Smith leg before wicket for 45 with a delivery that nibbled back.
As soon as he faced the second ball, Travis Head, who was known for his aggressive nature, blasted it right to the boundary.
However, Haq’s life was perilous, and following an imprudent drive by Aamer Jamal, he found himself hiding for fourteen days.
Despite Pakistan’s increasing pressure, Marsh and Khawaja both cleared reviews in the same dramatic Jamal over.
Marsh kept the scoreboard ticking over with sixes from Jamal and spinner Salman, but on 23, Masood pulled off an amazing comeback by dropping a sitter at mid-off.
After reaching the mark, Khawaja accelerated and scored his 25th Test half-century in 151 balls.
Marsh struck off Shaheen Shah Afridi for his second fifty after lunch. Two men then bowled.
Khawaja reached 90 with some brave boundaries before taking another massive drive that Azam caught off Afridi and declared.
Both teams will play the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne before the series ends in Sydney.
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