4/2; 0(2), 0(2) - Read the scoreboard eight balls into the Australia vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Day 1. The visitors had won the toss and chosen to bat first but their decision to open the final match of the series came under scrutiny almost instantly when both the Pakistan openers, Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub, walked without adding a single run on the board. (AUS Vs PAK Scorecard | More Cricket News)
Shafique, who had come under criticism for his below-par performances on this leg of the tour, did himself no favour by edging Mitchell Starc's swinging delivery into the safe hands of Steve Smith. Debutant Ayub, meanwhile, walked back after flicking Josh Hazelwoord's effort into Alex Carey's grasp.
Captain Shan Masood and Babar Azam steadied the sinking Pakistan ship slightly, but it wasn't until the introductions of Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha that the visitors looked threatening. Rizwan batted masterfully after Pakistan's top-order collapse, adding 88 significant runs to the board, while Agha crossed his half-century before surrendering his wicket to Starc.
Rizwan and Agha's efforts had pushed Pakistan over the 200-run mark, but as the visitors lost their ninth wicket - Hasan Ali - for 227 runs, they still seemed short of the desired total. Enter Aamer Jamal. Batting at number eight, Jamal stunned the Aussie bowling attack with a quick-fire 50 that had turned into 82 by the time he was finally removed from the crease by Nathan Lyon. Pakistan, despite losing their first two wickets for four runs, despite losing five before 100 runs, would leave the field with 313 runs on the board.
The play switched over to Australia's batting, with the batters looking to cut into the deficit as much as possible before Stumps. That, however, didn't last long. Batting in the Test format for the penultimate time, David Warner faced all six balls of the first over, racking up six runs, as the umpire called it a day on the proceedings.
Australia vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Day 1 Scores
Pakistan: 313; Mohammad Rizwan 88(103), Aamer Jamal 82(97)
Australia: 6/0; David Warner 6(6), Usman Khawaja 0(0)
Pakistan lead by 307 runs.
Australia vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Playing XIs
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (capt), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (capt), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamer Jamal
