Day One Recap Australia Vs. Pakistan
Perth Stadium played host to Australia and Pakistan’s opening test match as the Aussies won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening duo of David Warner and Usman Khawaja took to the middle of the pitch as Shaheen Afridi readied his bowl for the test to begin.
It was a huge start for Australia offensively as Khawaja went for 12 in the first over and the duo combined for 14. The overs to follow saw those numbers move up at a much slower pace but consistently nonetheless.
Warner really got going in the sixth over and began dominating the Pakistan bowlers. He worked his way to a half-century in the 15th over as Australia were at 74-0.
The pair continued their great play as Khawaja played Robin to Warner’s Batman and ten overs later, they were unbeaten at 116.
It was then, after lunch, that it was evident David Warner was set to put in a vintage performance. Khawaja was dismissed with 41 but Warner had much more to give.
He worked his way around Pakistan’s bowlers perfectly and made their team pay for a pair of fielding blunders as he reached a century in the 43rd over.
He kept on scoring en route to 164 before being ousted finally by Shahzad. By this point he had already carried his country to 321-5. The day would eventually end with Australia at 346-5.
Pakistan Fights Back on Day Two
Day two began with Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey batting for Australia and early results seemed as though it would be similar results to the day prior. The pair were protecting their wickets and slowly putting runs on the board.
Carey was eventually dismissed in the 97th over with 34 and Australia at 411-6. Marsh kept pushing and looked as though he was set to take a page out of David Warner’s book and put in a century.
He looked smooth working his way to 90 not out at by the lunch break. Then, right after the break he was bowled by Shahzad leaving the centre with Australia at 476-8. This seemed to energize Pakistan a bit as the momentum would begin to swing.
They quickly saw Pat Cummins out with just nine runs and not long after took down Nathan Lyon to stop the Aussies at 487 all out.
The score is massive and if you had told Australia players and fans alike before the test they would finish with 487 they would’ve been ecstatic but given the way day one went and how day two had begun, the number almost feels disappointing.
Pakistan kept their momentum going as they began their batting innings. They showed no fear against the four headed monster of Starc, Hazlewood, Lyon, and Cummins as Pakistan slowly chipped away at their target number.
Abdullah Shafique and Imam ul-Haq stayed front and centre until the 36th over when Shafique put a ball in the air towards Warner giving the Aussies their first out as Pakistan sat at 74-1.
The Aussies claimed one more wicket on the day as Ul-Haq finished with 38 not out and Pakistan at a respectable 132-2 off 53 overs. Australia’s vaunted bowling attack will have to be better tomorrow to keep Aussie fans comfortable.
