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If there is a talk about some of the unusual batting styles in cricket, Steve Smith certainly features on the list. The Australian batter is famous for his unique style of playing shots and also reacting after playing a shot. Smith's way of leaving the ball is also quite funny. While some find his batting style weird, some try to imitate that.
Cricketers around the globe try to imitate Steve Smith but only a few get success. The same happened before the final Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Mohammad Rizwan and Sajid Khan tried to imitate Smith's batting style but found little success. Seeing this, Smith's closest friend took the onus on himself to teach the duo how to perfect Smith's batting. Marnus Labuschagne was seen helping Rizwan and Sajid Khan fine-tune the imitation.
Watch the video here:
Khawaja-Smith help Australia recover from early blows
Now coming to the game, Pat Cummins opted to bat first after getting it right at the flip of the coin. However, Shaheen Shah Afridi proved his decision wrong by accounting for David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in the third over itself. While Afridi got Warner with a nip-backer, he lured Labuschagne into a fancy drive resulting in a faint edge to the keeper.
With two wickets down so early, Australia found them in all sorts of trouble. But, as in the last game, the duo of Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith stepped up and kept the Pakistan bowlers devoid of wickets. Khawaja showed his class once again as he notched a brilliant half-century. Smith, on the other hand, stood intact at the crease aiding Khawaja.
The duo has already put up a century stand and is moving further. However, runs are not coming easily for them. The Pakistani bowlers, especially Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah, have kept it tight right from the start. Ali and Shah have bowled ten maiden overs (combined) till now.