DUBAI – Fakhar Zaman missed out on a well-deserved hundred for the first time as Australia came back strongly to bowl Pakistan out for 282 on the first day of the second Test at Abu Dhabi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Debutant Zaman and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed both scored 94 and together added 147 for the sixth wicket after Pakistan were jolted by spinner Nathan Lyon with four wickets off six balls in the first session.
Lyon finished with 4-79 while leg-spinner Marnus Labuschagne took 3-45. The off-spinner got the wickets of Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam.
Mohammad Hafeez was caught by Marnus Labuschagne from the bowling of Mitchell Starc. Fakhar Zaman dismissed at 94 while skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is batting at 78 runs.
Australia fielded the same side which drew the first Test in Dubai last week. However, Pakistan handed Test debuts to opener Fakhar Zaman and 26-year-old left-arm paceman Mir Hamza, replacing the injured Imam-ul-Haq and out of form fast bowler Wahab Riaz.
Earlier, Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia in the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The tourists managed to draw the first Test after a nail-biting contest. Currently, the two matches series is level at 0-0 and so the test can be a decider.
Sarfraz Ahmed faces some searching questions to answer for the second test against Australia over his bowling attack and batting lineup after Tim Paine’s side produced a battling draw in the first Test in Dubai.
Pakistan vs Australia 2nd Test: Key info about series decider
· Time: 11 am (PST)
· Dates: Tuesday, October 16 – Saturday, October 20
· Venue: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
· TV: PTV Sports, TEN Sports
· Live Streamings: Daily Pakistan, Foxtel app, Foxtel now
· Umpires: Richard Illingworth, S.Ravi
· Record: Played 63, Australia 31, Pakistan 14, drawn 18
· Record in UAE: Played 5, Pakistan 2, Australia 2, drawn 1
· Series record: Played 22, Australia 12, Pakistan 6, drawn 4
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Mir Hamza
Australia: Tim Paine (captain), Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc
Umpires: Sundaram Ravi (IND) and Richard Illingworth (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough(ENG)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
