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Pakistan will face Australia in the second Test match in Melbourne on December 26 and it will be extremely important for Shan Masood and Co after they lost the first match of the series by 360 runs. The Pakistan cricketers reached the venue few days before the match and they have been taking part in strenuous practice sessions. However, there was a heartwarming moment after one of the practice sessions as former skipper Babar Azam interacted with the fans who were present at the stadium. A female fan asked for Babar’s hat when he was signing autographs but the star batter sweetly denied her request as he told her that he has only one hat and he cannot give it to her.
Earlier, Nathan Lyon took his 500th Test wicket Sunday as Australia dismissed a rattled Pakistan for just 89 to post a thumping 360-run win in the opening Test at Perth.
Pakistan’s unlikely bid to win their first Test in Australia since 1995 was left in tatters by the spin king and the home side’s formidable pace attack, who wrapped up the game inside four days.
Chasing 450 for victory, the visitors succumbed meekly with Lyon taking 2-14. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both grabbed three wickets each.
“Great start to the summer, everything fell into place. We’ve played a lot of cricket, so the build-up was very chilled and relaxed,” said Australia captain Pat Cummins. “No hiccups this week, it’s all gone to plan.
Fan – Bhai mujhe aapki hat chahiye (bro, I want your hat)
Babar – Mere paas bhi ek hi hai (I have only one)
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) December 21, 2023
“500 Test wickets around the world is huge,” he added of Lyon. “Couldn’t be happier for him.”
After being left stranded on 499 after Pakistan’s first innings, Lyon finally reached the milestone when he trapped Faheem Ashraf lbw but there was an agonising wait as it went to review.
He then bowled Aamer Jamal in the same over, joining an elite club of just seven others, including fellow spinners Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and Australia’s Shane Warne.
“Great feeling to take 500 wickets,” said Lyon. “I have not taken anything for granted, especially playing for Australia, and appreciate every moment of my career.”
Australia declared on day four at 233-5 after Pakistan were dismissed for 271 in their first innings, in reply to the hosts’ 487.
Cummins made the call after opener Usman Khawaja was out for a gutsy 90 on a deteriorating pitch after a 126-run partnership with Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh remained unbeaten on 63 after Pakistan had removed Steve Smith and Travis Head early in the day to give themselves hope.
Facing a daunting chase, they got off to a horror start with Abdullah Shafique out for two in the first over, nicking an unplayable Starc ball to Alex Carey behind the stumps.
Captain Shan Masood, in his first Test in charge, did not last much longer, edging to Carey off Hazlewood to leave his team in dire straits at 17-2.
Starc also accounted for Imam-ul-Haq before Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel put up some resistance.
But that crumbled when Azam got an edge to Cummins on 14, with Carey again collecting.
When they returned from tea, Sarfaraz Ahmed lasted just six balls before he was caught at gully off Starc, and Agha Salman was run out.
Lyon then worked his magic before Hazlewood cleaned up.
“We could have batted a bit quicker, missed on 60-70 runs,” said Masood.
“Bowling-wise, I thought we did a lot of good things. Not as disciplined as we wanted to be, that’s the lesson from the Australian attack.”
(With AFP inputs)
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