Cricket Highlights, 18 Dec: Australia vs Pakistan (1st Test) – The host AUS took a 1-0 lead in the series with a big win of 360 runs.

Australia vs Pakistan (1st Test) – Highlights

Australia got a great win against Pakistan in the first match of David Warner’s farewell Test series. Pat Cummins’ team beat Pakistan by a huge margin of 360 runs, who are playing under new captain Shan Masood.

In the second innings, the Pakistani batsmen were outplayed by the fire of the Australian bowlers. They went down to bat with a target of 450 runs and were all out scoring just 89 runs.

The Aussies scored 84 runs after losing 2 wickets in the late afternoon of the third day of the Perth Test. On the morning of the fourth day, the hosts declared the innings by scoring 233 runs for 5 wickets in the second innings.

That set the target of 450 runs in front of Pakistan. No team had a winning record chasing such a big target earlier. However, in the end, the Pakistanis were folded up being crushed by the pressure of a huge target on the 4th day to score only 89 runs in 30.2 overs. As a result, they were defeated by a big margin of 360 runs.

Pakistan has not won a Test match on Australian soil since 1995. They had played 14 Tests before this match. Shan Masood’s team made it number 15 by losing this match.

Batting for 450 runs, Pakistan lost their first wicket on 2 runs. After that, the visitors kept losing wickets one after another at regular intervals. Saud Shakeel scored the best 24 runs off 51 balls for the team.

Opener Abdullah Shafique scored 2 runs off 6 balls. Imam-ul-Haq, who made fifty in the first innings, returned with 10 runs. Captain Masood also batted irresponsibly and returned to the dressing room after scoring only 2 runs. Former captain Babar Azam scored 14 runs. Agha Salman and Faheem Ashraf got 5 runs each.

Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc scalped 3 wickets each for Australia. Nathan Lyon took 2 wickets and Pat Cummins got only one. Mitchell Marsh was elected player of the match with 90 in the first innings, 63 not out in the second innings, and he picked 1 wicket as well.

Earlier in the first innings of the Perth Test, Australia scored 487 runs on the back of Warner’s great century (164 runs) and Marsh’s big innings of 90 runs. In response, Pakistan were all out for 271 runs. Opener Imam scored the only fifty for Pakistan in that innings. This left-handed opener scored 62 runs off 199 balls.

Pakistan played cautiously in the first innings but could not manage to pick up a hefty total. Opener Shafique scored 42 runs. Masood returned with 30 runs. Cummins started to send back the Pakistani batters by taking the wicket of Khurram Shahzad. He was bowled by the Aussie captain for 7 runs.

It was Imam who put up some resistance and tried to bat. He was dismissed for 62 runs off 199 balls. After leaving the leadership, Babar also lost his form. He scored only 21 runs in 54 balls. Shakeel and Salman scored an unbeaten 28 runs.

Spinner Nathan Lyon took the highest 3 wickets for Australia. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins clutched 2 wickets each. Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, and Travis Head took 1 wicket each.

Australia had a chance to make Pakistan follow on due to a big lead of 216 runs in the first innings. In that case, Cummins could have beaten Masood’s team by an innings; But the Australian captain did not accept that opportunity. Rather, he went down to bat in the second innings.

Opener Usman Khawaja scored the highest 90 runs for Australia in the second innings. Warner got out for zero and Marnus Labuschagne was out collecting just 2 runs, whereas Steven Smith scored 45 and Head scored 14 runs.

Australia vs Pakistan Scoreboard   

Australia – 487/10 (113.2)

Pakistan – 271/10 (101.5)

Australia – 233/5 (D) (63.2)

Pakistan – 89/10 (30.2)

Result – Australia won by 360 runs

Player of the match – Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh

Australia vs Pakistan Playing XIs