(Cricket news) Day 2 of the MCG Test got underway early and quickly as Pakistan added 131 runs to the overnight total of 187/3 by taking the final seven Australian wickets. Australia scored at a rate of more than four runs per over in much better batting conditions with the sun shining on them, but Pakistan’s quicks had good field support as they completed all of their catches to conclude the host team’s innings.
When Marnus Labuschagne, the Day 1 poster boy for defiance, drove through extra cover to pick up the opening runs of the match, caution was thrown to the wind from the very beginning. After Shaheen Afridi’s line went awry, four more runs were scored on the next ball due to byes down to the fine leg boundary. Then, Hasan Ali gave Travis Head the gift of breadth to begin the innings. As usual, Head pounced, smashing two fours and leading the team swiftly past 200.
Afridi defeated a free-spirited Head, as the left-hander attempted a full delivery that nicked it and swung away from him. Agha Salman had to make a diving catch at second slip to give Pakistan the wicket. Then came Mitchell Marsh, who made a carefree cameo before launching into the Pakistani attack after surviving two umpire decisions against him via DRS. When he gave him the opportunity to knock a straight six, he began to flex his muscles against Agha Salman’s spin.
As was to be expected, Marsh positioned himself in the crease, waiting for Salman to pull back his length and punch it through the covers for a four. Aamer Jamal’s flawless length ball, which bent away ever so little to square up Labuschagne and go off the outside edge to first slip, where Abdullah Shafique made no mistakes today, caused the flow of runs to stop. As soon as the new ball became available, Pakistan took it and Afridi scored immediately, with Alex Carey coming on and off shortly.
Carey stepped up to play a drive after the left-armer got the ball to swing in, but he ultimately inside-edged it behind. As attentive as ever, Mohammad Rizwan dove to his right and executed an incredible one-handed take to send his opponent reeling. Mitchell Starc struck two fours off Mir Hamza and was out of the game in the same over, leaving the hosts seven down, while Marsh batted on and on. Even against Afridi, who was getting the new ball to nip around quite a bit, Marsh was playing his shots without being phased by anything related to the match scenario.
Up to 52 runs were conceded in extras by Pakistan due to errors in line and discipline (20 in byes, 15 in leg byes, 10 in wides, and 2 in no-balls). Mir Hamza forced Marsh to take a false shot, which resulted in his hitting to Aamer Jamal at deep backward point, resulting in a 60-ball 41, before Australia could reach 300. Pat Cummins was hammered by Pakistani pacers on a few times, but the Australian captain withstood the assault. The Australian captain was tricked into hitting a powerful shot and found the fielder in the deep on the leg-side by a sucker ball of an innocent length.
With the seventh catch of the session coming from Mir Hamza, Pakistan eventually ended the Australian innings at 318.
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