Picture Credit: Twitter
Day 3 of the ongoing 2nd Test between Pakistan and Australia finally delivered some entertainment for cricket fans. After Australia notched up 556 for nine in their 1st innings on the back of Usman Khawaja's terrific century (160 off 369) and half-centuries from Steven Smith (72) and Alex Carey (93). The home side put on a poor batting show in their first innings and got bundled out at 148 in just 53 overs.
Pakistan batters, who were quite impressive in the first Test, succumbed in front of Australia's disciplined bowling lineup. Openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq departed either side of the lunch break, leaving their side tottering at 45/2. At the same time, skipper Babar Azam showed some resilience by scoring 36 in 79 balls but didn't get any help from other batters in middle-order. Five of Pakistan's players could not reach double-digit figures, which is a testimony of the hosts' abysmal batting performance in the first innings of the 2nd Test. While the batting display from Pakistan has pushed them behind in the game, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar found it quite entertaining. He took a jibe at the batting unit by claiming that Pakistan's batting collapse removed his boredom, and a scoreline of 100/7 must be entertaining. Not just Akhtar, many cricket fans also took to social media and took a dig at Pakistan's batting unit.
Here are a few interesting tweets:
Australia declared their 1st innings on 556 for nine on the third day and Pakistan bundling out on the same day underlines the contrasting batting performances from both teams. The first Test had ended in a dull-draw in Rawalpindi, with the pitch being given a 'below average' rating by ICC. Australia is on their first tour of Pakistan since 1998, having previously refused to visit over security fears. The third and final Test is scheduled to start in Lahore on March 21.