Lahore, First Published Mar 25, 2022, 6:24 PM IST
The first two matches of the three-Test series between Pakistan and Australia ended in a draw and the last match was played in Lahore.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 391 in the first innings. Usman Khawaja, who batted brilliantly, scored 91 and missed the target by 9 runs. Steve Smith scored 59 runs. Alex Carey scored 67 and Cameron Green 79 as the Australians piled up 391 runs.
Following this, Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafiq scored 81 in the first innings. Azhar Ali scored 78 and captain Babur Assam 67. Pakistan scored only 268 in the first innings as none of the other players were bowled out for short runs.
Usman Kawaja, the opening batsman of the Australian team, scored a century in the 2nd innings with a lead of 121 runs. Warner scored a fifty. Kawaja scored 104 and Warner 51. Australia declared their 3rd season of Day 4 with 227 for 3, leading by 348 runs.
Australia set a tough target of 508 for Pakistan in the last innings of the 2nd Test. Pakistan lost 7 wickets and scored 443 runs in the last 2 days. Even though the match ended in a draw, the manner in which the Pakistan team chased down that tough target was immense. Despite Pakistan threatening such a formidable innings, Australia bravely declared the 2nd innings of the last season of Day 4 in the last Test and set a target of 351 runs.
Abdullah Shafiq and Imam-ul-Haq, the opening batsmen of the Pakistan team who started the chase with a challenging target of 351 runs, relaxed and finished the 4th day’s play with 27 overs to spare. At the end of the 4th day, Pakistan scored 73 runs without losing a wicket.
Shafi and Imam-ul-Haq continued to bat as Pakistan needed 278 runs to win the final day’s play. Australia’s senior spinner Nathan Lyon, captain and fast bowler Pat Cummins have dropped the Pakistan batting order in the wake of the immense batting expected from the Pakistan team.
Shafiq and Imam-ul-Haq, who played the last season of the 4th day of the match brilliantly, were unbeaten on the final day of the match. Shafiq was out for 27 and Imam-ul-Haq was out for 70 in the final day’s play with 40+. After that Captain Babur Assam was the only batsman to score a fifty and score 55 runs. All but him were bowled out for 235 by Pakistan. Nathan Lion took 5 wickets and Pat Cummins took 3 wickets.
Australia then won the Test series 1-0, winning by 115 runs. Australia win Test series on Pakistan soil for the 3rd time in Test cricket history. Pat Cummins was named captain and Usman Khawaja was named series captain.
Last Updated Mar 25, 2022, 6:24 PM IST