Picture Credit: Instagram/@davidwarner31
Australian top-order batter David Warner posted a video where he and fellow teammates Usman Khwaja, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne could be seen playing tennis before the 2nd test against Pakistan in Karachi. The pair of opening batters Warner and Khawaja teamed up in a doubles contest against Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
The video was uploaded on Instagram with the caption. “What do we do in our spare time!! We play a little bit of tennis, well I do, but these other three play a lot and are very good.”
The first Test match between Australia and Pakistan ended as a draw. But the pitch in the Rawalpindi Ground was rated ‘below average’ by the match referee Ranjan Madugalle. He said, "The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days. There has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower. In my view, this does not represent an even contest between bat and ball. In keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average."
Here is the video uploaded by Warner:
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had admitted that the pitch had been prepared specifically to hinder the impact of the Australian pace attack. He said he comprehended the fans’ frustration and added that "just for the heck of it, we can't prepare a fast pitch or a bouncy pitch and put the game in Australia's lap ... It's important that when we play at home, we play to our strengths."
Notably, this is a historic tour since Australia has landed in Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. Given this context, fans were expecting a good contest between the bat and the ball but were left disappointed as close to 1200 runs were scored in the game for the lost of just 14 wickets.