Follow-on yields quick scalps
AUSTRALIA’S decision to enforce the follow-on against Pakistan has been rewarded, with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc each striking early before rain hit.
After Starc’s six wickets gave Australia a 287-run first-innings lead in Adelaide, Pakistan fell to 2-11 in the tricky twilight period against a new ball on the day three.
Hazlewood had Imam-ul-Haq lbw for a duck before dinner, while Starc had Azhar Ali caught by a diving Steve Smith at second slip for nine just as the rain swept across the ground.
Umpires immediately took the players from the field.
Starc earlier took 6-66 to help knock over Pakistan for 302 in their first innings, giving Tim
Paine the chance to become the first Australian captain to enforce the follow-on in four years.
However, the Australians were far from perfect yesterday, where spinner Yasir Shah became Pakistan’s oldest player to score a maiden Test century.
Paine copped a nasty blow on the end of his finger and appeared to receive treatment at one point as he grimaced his way through, nursing an old injury that has hampered him for at least half his career.
Australia missed six chances in the field, as Pakistan added 206 to their overnight total of 6-96 and Babar Azam went within a whisker of back-to-back centuries.
Two Yasir edges bounced marginally in front of Smith at first slip off the spinners, suggesting he was perhaps standing too deep.
Tasmanian Matthew Wade should have had him run out by a long way on 27, while Paine missed a stumping chance off Nathan Lyon that bounced and turned between bat and pad on 35.
Marnus Labuschagne also dropped a caught-and-bowled chance to remove Yasir on 47, before grassing a dolly to remove him at short leg when he was on 106. The 33-year-old eventually finished on 113, the last man out when Pat Cummins had him caught swatting away at one on the leg-side boundary. Cummins meanwhile finished with 3-83 to become the first bowler to reach 50 wickets this year.
But Starc was by far and away Australia’s best after David Warner’s 325 in their first innings helped them to 3(dec)-589.
The left-armer had four wickets with edges on Saturday night, he claimed his 12th career five-wicket haul yesterday and his second in six Tests with the pink ball.
One of Starc’s victims was the key scalp of Babar, who again gave Pakistan their only real light with 97 to go with his century at the Gabba. While his teammates struggled with the pink ball and the Adelaide wicket, Babar was his usual elegant self, playing nicely both sides of the wicket. But his quest to become just the 13th tourist to hit successive tons in Australia fell agonisingly short when he edged Starc behind to a diving Paine. Teenager Shaheen Shah Afridi went the following ball — trapped lbw to Starc as he used up a review in the process. He narrowly missed out on a hat-trick the next ball when Mohammad Abbas (29) had a leading edge fall safe.