Skip to main content

Starc brilliance earns Australia series victory against Pakistan

Mitchell Starc shone with bat and ball as Australia dismissed Pakistan for 163 to secure an innings and 18 run victory in the second test on Friday, the win giving the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Home captain Steve Smith smashed an unbeaten 165 and gave his bowlers 68 overs on the fifth and final day to run through their opponents after declaring their first innings at 624 for eight before lunch, a lead of 181 runs.

In the end, they only needed 53.2 overs of the quota as pace spearhead Starc tore through the tail after tea, finishing with 4-36, with Pakistan crumbling on a benign Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch bathed in brilliant sunshine.

Pakistan lost the first test in Brisbane by 39 runs but won admiration for their dogged fourth innings resistance.

However, much of that acclaim evaporated on Friday as their shambolic batting display followed an abysmal effort in the field in the morning.

Pakistan's 52-year wait for a maiden series win in Australia goes on and they have now lost four matches in succession heading to the series finale in Sydney on Jan. 3."It's fantastic for us to get that result. We always thought that if we could find a way to get ourselves ahead of the game we'd find a way to win," said Starc, who smashed seven sixes in an MCG record during a swashbuckling knock of 84 in the morning.

"Everyone (was) going out there and believing that if we took those chances we would create enough to get 10 chances today.

"It was a fantastic way to finish the Boxing Day test."

Pakistan resumed on an already precarious 91-5 after tea, with opener Azhar Ali and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed tasked with surviving 36 overs to usher their team to safety.

But their partnership lasted less than three overs after the break when Josh Hazlewood trapped Azhar, Pakistan's last specialist batsman, lbw for 43.

LYON STRIKES

At 143-6, Jackson Bird thudded a delivery into Amir's pads when the tail-ender was on 11 but Smith wasted a review after the lbw appeal was turned down.

It changed little, however, as Bird bowled him two balls later.Sarfraz Ahmed had battled doggedly as his partners disappeared around him but he was bowled for 43 through the gate with a sizzling Starc

inswinger.

Starc then gave the same treatment to Wahab Riaz, bowling the paceman for a duck with another fiery delivery that beat the outside edge.

He wrapped up the win by having Yasir Shah sky an easy catch to Bird at mid-on.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who was under pressure to retain his spot in Sydney after a run of mediocre performances, set Australia on course for the win when he captured three wickets in the middle session, including two in three balls.

The tourists were already one wicket down at lunch, with Hazlewood having bowled opener Sami Aslam for two and Babar Azam soon departed for three off the first ball after the interval, trapped lbw by Starc.

Azhar and Younus Khan dug in for an hour but Lyon removed the latter two overs after the drinks break for 24, when the veteran coughed up a catch to Peter Handscomb at short leg.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq then departed for a duck two balls later, caught at fine leg by Nic Maddinson following an appalling sweep shot off Lyon.

Lyon grabbed his third victim late in the session when Asad Shafiq deflected a catch off his body for Handscomb to take a fine catch at short leg.

Smith and Starc hammered Pakistan's bowlers in a 154-run partnership after Australia had resumed on 465-6 in the morning.

Stay updated on the go with Sify Live Scores App. Click here to download it for your device



via Sify.com http://ift.tt/2ikbLQD

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

India withdraw Smith protest as boards make peace in DRS row

India have withdrawn an official protest about the actions of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second test as the governing bodies of both countries moved to bring an end to the acrimony surrounding the ongoing four-match series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier registered a complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Smith looking to the dressing room for guidance on whether to review an lbw decision during the Bengaluru match. Despite the hosts winning the test to level the series at 1-1 on Tuesday, India skipper Virat Kohli alleged the tourists had indulged in the practice throughout the match, sparking a war of words in the media and a robust response from Australia. The boards released a joint statement on Friday saying the chief executives of both bodies had met in Mumbai on Thursday and agreed to try and bring the focus "back to the game" ahead of next week's third test in Ranchi. "India has always cherished a c...

Pogba is one of best players when in form: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Leeds [UK], Dec 7 (ANI): Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised midfielder Paul Pogba, saying that he is one of the best players in the world when he is in good touch. "Paul is going to play when he gets his fitness. He is one of the best players in the world when he's in form and we just need to give him time to be 100 per cent fit," Goal.com quoted Solskjaer as saying. Pogba has endured a frustrating 2019-20 campaign to date, having only managed five Premier League appearances in total due to a string of fitness issues. He is currently recovering from an ankle injury and last played for the club on September 30 against Arsenal. Solskjaer had said that the France international will be out of action till December. "It might be 45 minutes in the first game, it might be half an hour, it might be 90. It depends on what game he comes back in and I'm looking back to get Paul back to where I had him about a year ago," Solskjaer said. ...

Virat Kohli and co. leave for West Indies

The Virat Kohli led Indian team left for the West Indies for the four-Test series starting July 21st. The team was accompanied by its newly appointed head coach Anil Kumble and other support staff. The 16-member squad will play a tour game against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on July 9 and 10. The journey begins. #TeamIndia leaves for the tour of West Indies. #WIvIND http://pic.twitter.com/ebK1jkoFiN -BCCI (@BCCI) July 5, 2016 That will be followed by a three-day warm-up fixture at the same venue from July 14 to 16. The first Test match will be held at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua from July 21 to 25. The other three Test matches will be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica (Jul 30-Aug 3), Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia (Aug 9-13) and Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad (Aug 18-22). When India last toured West Indies in 2011, the visitors won the series 1-0....