Pakistan completed an emphatic 356-run victory on the fifth and final fay of the second Test against Australia at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The win also meant that Pakistan completed a 2-0 whitewash of the Test series, their first Test series win against Australia since 1994-95. The moment of salvation came when Zulfiqar Babar dismissed Nathan Lyon by bowling him out for a golden duck to fold Australia’s innings up for 245 and ending with figures of five for 120. This was Pakistan’s one of biggest wins of all time, and they moved to the no. three spot on the ICC Test rankings with the monumental win.
When Australia went to to lunch on Day Five, they were on 238 for five, with Steven Smith batting on 97. The previous session was a positive one for Australia, as they managed to score 95 runs from 33 overs for the solitary dismissal of Mitchell Marsh. The second session turned out to be a major disaster though, with Smith dismissed barely a few balls after, causing him to miss out on a well-deserved century as well as an opportunity to guide Australia to safety.
Smith’s dismissal was a undoubtedly a huge blow to the Aussies, that also dented the confidence of the lower-order batsmen. Brad Haddin went back to the pavilion a few balls later, as he came out of his crease to play a Zulfiqar Babar delivery, which he ended un playing onto his stumps. The departure of the pre-lunch duo of Smith and Haddin meant that the defeat was imminent for Australia now, only the tail-enders could try their best to delay the inevitable as far as possible.
The duo of Babar and Yasir Shah however, were in a hurry to lift the trophy, and decided to wipe out the rest of the lower-order in a hurry. While Yasir Shah made Mitchell Johnson get bowled in another instance of an inside-edge. Mitchell Starc went for a heave off Shah’s bowling two overs later, but played the ball onto his stumps. Nathan Lyon was the last man to be dismissed when he tried to defend Babar’s delivery, which edged from his bat onto his pad, from which is deflected to Azhar Ali, who held on to it after a bit of a fumble.
The stadium exploded with cheers as the Pakistani players went into a state of frenzy on the pitch, relishing their first major Test series win in a long time, something that the team badly needed for a boost of confidence ahead of the upcoming World Cup, after being whitewashed in the One-Day International (ODI) series and losing the solitary Twenty20 International (T20I).
The day began with Australia resuming from their overnight score of 143 for the loss of four wickets after 48 overs. Smith and Mitchell Marsh had get their partnership going if they were to prevent Australia from collapsing to a heavy defeat. The duo of Smith and Mitchell Marsh had earlier brought up the fifty-run stand for the fifth-wicket. The stand will be crucial for Australia’s chances of securing a draw in the final Test, though it will be very difficult for them to level the series at this juncture.
Australia began the fifth and final day, resuming from their overnight score of 143 for four from 48 overs, chasing a target of 603 runs. Pakistan had earlier declared at 293 for three, with a healthy lead. Australia had to bat a little more than four sessions in order to save the Test match, and they started on a bad note.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 570 for 6 (Younis Khan 213, Azhar Ali 109; Mitchell Starc 2 for 86) & 293 for 3 (Azhar Ali 100*, Misbah ul-Haq 101*; Mitchell Johnson 2 for 45) beat Australia 261 (Mitchell Marsh 87, Michael Clarke 47; Imran Khan 3 for 60) & 295 (David Warner 58, Steven Smith 97; Zulfiqar Babar 5 for 120, Yasir Shah 3 for 44) by 460 runs.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
Written by 
