Team
The first test match of the three-match series between Australia and Pakistan was wrapped up in just four days, with the hosts convincingly winning by 360 runs at Optus Cricket Stadium in Perth. It was a one-sided affair as Pakistan’s batting lineup failed to deliver in both innings, and the Australian bowlers exploited their weaknesses to take a commanding lead.
Chasing a target of 450 runs in the fourth innings of the test match, Pakistan’s batsmen struggled to deal with the Australian bowling attack and were all out for just 89 runs. Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon was the star of the show, as he became the eighth bowler in test match history to take 500 wickets. Faheem Ashraf became Lyon’s 500th dismissal.
In their second innings, Australia scored 233 runs for the loss of 5 wickets before declaring their second innings after taking a lead of 449 runs. Usman Khawaja was the top scorer for Australia in the second innings with an authoritative innings of 90 runs, while Mitchel Marsh played an unbeaten innings of 63 runs.
For Pakistan, the bowling figures were not too bad as Khurram Shehzad took three wickets, and debutant Aamer Jamal added one to his test tally. However, Pakistan’s batting was not up to the mark, with no batsman able to consolidate against the Australian bowling line-up in their second innings. Saud Shakeel was the top scorer with 24 runs, followed by Babar Azam who scored 143 runs.
Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc took three wickets each to limit Pakistan to 89 runs in the fourth innings of the match. In the first innings, Australia scored 487 runs, while Pakistan managed to reach 271 runs in reply, giving Australia a lead of 216 runs.
Mitchell Marsh was given the Player of the Match award for his all-around performance. The second test match of the series will be played from 26 December to 30 December at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne. Pakistan will be looking to level the series and make a strong comeback after their heavy defeat in the first test. The team will need to learn from their mistakes and come up with a better strategy to compete with the strong Australian side.
