Pakistan seeks an Australia Test victory as Cummins scores two. With Australia’s captain Pat Cummins taking out Pakistan’s Shan Masood for a resolute sixty-five, the battle to win the second Test in Melbourne was poised on Friday.
After reducing the score to 188 at tea on day four, the visitors were 129-3 and chasing 317 to win their first Test match in Australia since 1995.
Masood appeared headed for a massive score, but they lost him when Cummins enticed an edge that Steve Smith took at slip. Saud Shakeel was on 10 and the dangerous Babar Azam was on 35 at the half.
Before lunch, in a difficult session, opener Abdullah Shafique went for four, caught by Usman Khawaja in the slips off Mitchell Starc after a period of strong pressure.
Iman-ul-Haq held his own against Cummins after he put down a probing ball that nipped back and trapped him leg before wicket for twelve.
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Masood was called out for leg before wicket on twelve by the umpire, but the decision was reversed upon appeal, and he soon resumed his form, hitting Nathan Lyon for four with a magnificent drive into the covers.
Despite taking a hard ball to the ribs that required medical attention, he remained unfazed.At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, England’s 1928 fourth-inning run chase record stood at 332–7, with scores beyond 300 being extremely uncommon.
Resuming on 187-6, the hosts were all out for 262 in their second innings, which allowed the Pakistanis to pile up points.
The top bowler was Mir Hamza, who finished with 4-32, followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took 4-76.
Alex Carey, who lost his spot in the one-day side to Josh Inglis, hammered 53 to help Australia extend their lead and allay concerns about his form.
