Australia whitewashes Pakistan in Test series

0
883

MELBOURNE – Australia on Monday whitewashed Pakistan in the second Test match of the series with an innings and 48 runs at Adelaide Oval after its yesterday’s clever decision of enforcing a follow-on on the tourists.

Nathan Lyon grabbed five wickets to push Australia to victory on day four of the one-sided match.

The tourists were all bowled out for just 239 runs in their second innings, after hosts yesterday’s clever decision of enforcing follow-on.

Mohammad Rizwan could grab only 45 runs with four boundaries and failed to make his fifty when was bowled by Hazlewood.

Mohammad Abbas was run out by Pat Cummins at the crease when he was at one score.

Denied a wicket despite some good spells in Pakistan’s first innings of 302, Lyon smashed through their defences on a docile pitch, removing Shaan Masood and Asad Shafiq before tea after both scored half-centuries.

He returned to break a stubborn 47-run partnership between number six Iftikhar Ahmed and wicketkeeper Rizwan, with Marnus Labuschagne finally catching a nick at short leg after grassing three earlier chances in the day-night test.

With Iftikhar, Pakistan’s last specialist batsman gone, the writing was on the wall for the tourists.

Yasir Shah was unable to repeat his first innings heroics when he scored an unlikely ton. He fell for 13 when trapped lbw by Lyon and duly threw away a referral trying to overturn the decision.

Shaheen Afridi was the eighth wicket to fall as he sent a top edge off Lyon flying high to mid-off to be out for one run.

Yesterday, rain brought stumps early in the day-night test at a floodlit Adelaide Oval.

After bowling Pakistan out for 302 before dinner in their first innings, Australia enforced the follow-on and Josh Hazlewood duly rewarded skipper Tim Paine with two early wickets, with Mitchell Starc chipping in one.

Hazlewood trapped opener Imam-ul-Haq lbw for a duck on the cusp of dinner and later returned to have Babar Azam caught behind for eight. Starc, who took 6-66 in the first innings, grabbed his seventh wicket for the test by dismissing Pakistan captain Azhar Ali for nine, with Steve Smith diving for a fine catch in the slips.

Anchored by a magnificent 335 by David Warner, the home side declared their first innings closed at a mammoth 589 for three on day two and then reduced Pakistan to 89 for six in the evening session.