BRISBANE – Australia beat Pakistan by an innings and five runs in the first Test in Brisbane to go 1-0 up in the two-match series on Sunday.
The visitors were dismissed for 335 in the second innings in response after they had conceded a massive 340-run lead in the first innings.
The visitors were trailing by 72 runs with only four wickets in hand at tea but could by then harbour realistic hopes of avoiding an innings defeat.
The visitors had been 196 runs as they went into lunch at 144-5 but Babar and Rizwan’s 132-run stand helped bring some respectability to the score before Babar was dismissed by Nathan Lyon when he nicked one through to Tim Paine behind the stumps for 104.
Rizwan has found impressive support in Yasir Shah as well and the two are currently involved in an unbeaten 42-run partnership.
The side had been reduced to 94-5 after Asad Shafiq and then Iftikhar Ahmed had both been dismissed on ducks but a 50-run stand between wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Rizwan and Babar has helped Pakistan settle the ship a bit.
Centuries by David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne had helped Australia amass 580 in response to Pakistan’s 240.
Pakistan 1st innings 240
Australia 1st innings 580
Pakistan 2nd innings (overnight 64-3)
Shan Masood c Paine b Cummins 42
Azhar Ali lbw Starc 5
Haris Sohail c Paine b Starc 8
Asad Shafiq c Smith b Cummins 0
Babar Azam c Paine b Lyon 104
Iftikhar Ahmed c Paine b Hazlewood 0
Mohammad Rizwan c Lyon b Hazlewood 95
Yasir Shah c Wade b Hazlewood 42
Shaheen Afridi c Cummins b Hazlewood 10
Imran Khan c Wade b Starc 5
Naseem Shah not out 0
Extras (b9, lb9, nb1, w5) 24
Total (all out; 84.2 overs) 335
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Azhar), 2-25 (Sohail), 3-25 (Shafiq), 4-93 (Masood), 5-94 (Iftikhar), 6-226 (Azam), 7-305 (Rizwan), 8-324 (Yasir), 9-331 (Shaheen), 10-335 (Imran)
Bowling: Starc 16.2-1-73-3 (1nb), Cummins 21-6-69-2 (5w), Hazlewood 21-3-63-4, Lyon 21-3-74-1, Labuschagne 5-0-38-0
