Abdullah Shafiq (45*) and Azhar Ali (30*) remain at the crease. Earlier, Australia scored 391 runs in their first innings.
Playing ahead of yesterday’s score of 232/5 , Australia’s Alex Carey and Cameron Green completed their respective half-centuries and the team’s score was 320/5 till lunch.
However, after the dismissal of these two batsmen, Australia’s lower order faltered and the entire team was bowled out for 391 runs in 133.3 overs. Shaheen Afridi (4/79) and Naseem Shah (4/59) took four wickets each for Pakistan.
Wicket-keeper batsman Carey scored the third half-century of his Test career in 73 balls. He scored 67 runs in 105 balls with the help of seven fours.
All-rounder Green completed his fourth half-century of his Test career in 117 balls with the help of five fours. Green, who was batting sensibly, got out after scoring 79 runs in 163 balls. Green along with Carey added 135 runs for the sixth wicket.
In the 13th over, Pakistan got the first blow when Imam-ul-Haq was given LBW at score of 20.
After first wicket, Abdullah Shafiq (45*) and Azhar Ali (30*) did not allow any further collapse to take place. However, the low score rate was a problem for Pakistani batting order. Till the stumps of the second day, Pakistan scored 90 runs in 39 overs for the loss of one wicket.
Shaheen Afridi bowled lethally and took four wickets for 79 runs. He currently has 94 wickets in 39 innings. He has left behind former Pakistan player Tauseef Ahmed (93) in terms of wickets.
Currently, the match is looking balanced. The pitch has been quite unpredictable in this match. With a sign of reverse swing and uneven bounce, bowlers will prefer their chances throughout the day.
In short, if bowled with persistency and accuracy, the reward is there as we saw it happening in the spell of Naseem Shah. Australia had a good pace attack and as the ball gets old, it will be an interesting competition between bat and ball.