Pakistan vs Australia: Day 2 Highlights and Events

Pakistan looked in a strong position on the second day of the first Test match being played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan declared their first innings on a score of 476/4. In reply, Australia got a chance to play only one over. The day’s play ended early due to poor light and Australia scored five runs for no loss.

The Australian bowler, who craved for a wicket on the first day, had another troubled day. However, they kept their line and lengths accurate and got rewarded. Pat Cummins bagged the first wicket of Imam-ul-Haq and he really deserved it.

After scoring 68 on the second day, Pakistan lost the wicket of Imam-ul-Haq. Imam had scored an unbeaten 132 on the first day. On the second day, he was dismissed for a score of 157. It was his first century in Test cricket and he converted it into a very big score.

Azhar Ali, who scored an unbeaten 64 on the first day, also batted brilliantly on the second. Consequently, after completing his ton, he accelerated the strike rate and scored the next 50 runs in mere 60 balls.

After sharing a 208-run stand with Imam for the second wicket, he added 101 runs for the third wicket with Babar Azam (36). Azhar scored 185 runs and missed his double century. Pakistan lost Azhar’s wicket for a total of 442.

Even though Pakistan batted for two full days, they could not touch the 500 mark due to slow batting. 

Especially Imam and Azhar batted very slowly. While Imam faced 358 balls at a strike rate of 44, Azhar faced 361 balls with a strike rate of 51.25. Abdullah Shafiq also scored at a strike rate of 42.

Australia managed to take only four wickets despite using a total of eight bowlers. On the first day, they bowled at fuller lengths. Subsequently, on the second day, they dragged their length back and troubled Pakistan’s batsmen. 

Nathan Lyon single-handedly bowled 52 overs from a side and took one wicket. Josh Hazlewood got 26 overs and Mitchell Starc got no wickets despite bowling 24 overs. Pat Cummins also bowled 28 overs and took one wicket. 

Markus Labuschagne conceded 53 runs in 12 overs but bagged one wicket. However, Labuschagne did an absolute screamer run out to send Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam back to the pavilion.