Australia defeated Pakistan by 79 runs in the second Test on Friday to win the series. They won thanks to Pat Cummins’ five and ten wickets.
The visitors were bowled out for 237 and scored 18 runs from the final five wickets, failing to reach 317 runs.
After 5-48 in the first inning, Cummins wrecked the match with 5-49, his second 10-wicket haul in Tests. When it looked like the match would go to the wire, the bowler came in and dismissed Mohammad Rizwan, taking his 250th Test wicket.
The tail finished with Mitchell Starc scoring 4-55 after Babar Azam (41), Agha Salman (50), and Shan Masood (60).
It was always going to be difficult since no other side had scored more than 300 and England had the most successful fourth-inning run chase in history, finishing 332-7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1928.
Abdullah Shafique tried for four to start the tough session before lunch, but Usman Khawaja caught him in the slips from Starc after a quick energy burst.
Iman-ul-Haq was holding his own after Cummins trapped him leg before wicket for twelve as he put down a probing ball that nipped back.
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Play resumed after an appeal overturned the umpire’s call to rule Masood out before the wicket. After a serious rib injury and medical attention, he finished in the top 50 to see Cummins save Australia again by inciting Steve Smith.
Azam was healthy but had many responsibilities as the team’s primary batter. Josh Hazlewood was hit by a ball at 41 that hit his off stump.
Cummins performed his magic again when Alex Carey caught the ball behind the wickets after it deviated off the batsman’s glove. Rizwan looked deadly at 35. Then Cummins easily dismissed Aamer Jamal and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Starc concluded.
Pakistan bowled the hosts out for 262 in the second inning after recovering from 187–6.
Ultimately, Afridi (4–76) and Mir Hamza (4–32) were the greatest bowlers. Josh Inglis replaced Carey in the one-day squad and hit 53 to lift Australia and calm concerns about his form.
He resumed on 16 after Mitchell Marsh’s aggressive 96 and Smith’s brave 50 helped Australia recover from 16–4.
After hitting two fours in Hasan Ali’s opener last season, Carey gained confidence. Carey’s only Test century came in Melbourne.
Afridi struck on a pitch that gave bowlers something to work with, and Starc succumbed for nine after holding on for dear life. Starc’s poor driving gave Azam a brief window to slip.
Three deliveries after Cummins hit two fours from Jamal, he was bowled for eleven. Jamal mishandled the ball, allowing Rizwan to get Cummins behind it.
Hamza dismissed Carey leg before wicket in Test cricket after reaching his sixth half-century.
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