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During a brilliant stint late in the second day of
play, Captain Pat Cummins clean bowled Babar Azam with a beauty of a delivery,
causing Pakistan to crumble and giving Australia control of the Boxing Day
Test.
Australia appears set to take a significant lead in
the first innings after Pakistan had advanced to 124 for 1 with confidence, the
MCG surface appearing to flatten in the sunny circumstances. Cummins claimed
three wickets in this session.
Pakistan was disappointed as they had put on a strong
show for the majority of the day. Following their lunchtime dismissal of
Australia for 318, Pakistan made a fast start after tea, with opener Abdullah
Shafique and captain Shan Masood combining for a partnership of 90 runs.
Masood led from the front by charging at offspinner
Nathan Lyon and smashing him hard to the ground, fulfilling a pledge he made to
his squad prior to the series that they would play a proactive brand.
In their more than two decades of suffering in
Australia, where they have lost 15 successive Test matches, Pakistan had rarely
displayed such dominance.
But Cummins took it upon himself to shift the tide of
the match with a five-over spell of brilliance, first accounting for Shafique
with a superb follow-through return catch.
With a pearler that featured late inward seam movement
to confuse Babar and hit the top of off stump, he delivered an even better
delivery. Cummins leaped into the air in delight after Babar was dismissed for
one, and Pakistan was unable to bounce back from the demoralising loss of their
lucky charm.
Soon after Masood reached his half-century, he holed
out trying to make another tremendous stroke, and Lyon exacted revenge. After
dismissing Imam-ul-Haq, the opener, in his first match after claiming his 500th
Test wicket in the series opener, Lyon claimed his second wicket.
Saud Shakeel was removed for the first time under 20
in his 16th innings of a developing Test match when he was caught on 9 by a
brilliant ball from the quick Josh Hazlewood.
It is up to Rizwan, who was in fine form on his return
after being controversially left out of the first Test match by selectors who
preferred to stay with veteran wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed, to save Pakistan
from a significant first innings deficit.
After Australia resumed on 187 for 3 after a
rain-interrupted first day, Pakistan battled back into the match with seven
wickets in an extended first session, but their disastrous end undid all of
their earlier hard work.