Image Credit- AP
While Pakistan will be relieved to witness Abdullah
Shafique’s technique for themselves, no one in Pakistan was shocked when it
held up to the examination of Australian surfaces. He batted first for 36 overs
in Perth, saw off the new ball, and fell for a determined, if attritional, 42.
He and Shan Masood formed a more meaningful connection here in Melbourne, their
90-run stand giving Pakistan a commanding lead before his wicket turned the
tide for the visitors.
Shafique’s batting stroke revealed a flatter surface
than it had throughout the entire Test match, which was telling. Even though
Marnus Labuschcagne scored a brilliant 63 from 155 balls, he frequently had his
edges broken, but Australia had little opportunities during Shafique’s 62. The
life the strip had purportedly been hiding during his stand surfaced again as
soon as he was fired.
“When you get set in the middle you get a good
view of the bowlers and what they’re doing,” Shafique said at the post-day
press conference. “It becomes easier at that point, but as we got out the
things became harder for us. We just wanted to put together a good partnership,
because we’ve lacked partnerships with the bat in this series. We just wanted
to get set and score runs for the team.”
Shafique’s dismissal set off a disastrous passage of
play for Pakistan, who lose 5 wickets for 46 runs in the hour that followed.
“As a batting unit it hurts to lose these wickets
back to back,” Shafique said. “But I hope we’ll recover with this
ongoing partnership. The conditions here are much different compared to
Pakistan. Pat Cummins is a good bowler so as a batter you have to take your
chances. He will not give you loose deliveries so you have to create them. He
was planning something for me because I was playing well there, but I think he
took a good catch as well.”
The only thing preventing Pakistan from suffering a
severe deficit is the developing relationship between Rizwan and Aamer Jamal.
With Pakistan already 124 behind, Shafique understands the need of avoiding
going too far behind in the game. The two have scored 28 runs through
counterattacking.
They will need to show similar heart with the bat on
the third morning. Unfortunately for the visitors, Shafique himself can no
longer help them out this innings.