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AUS vs PAK, 2nd Test | Marsh, Smith Mount Australian Lead After Cummins’ Fifer On Day 3

image-lqoukj3hPat Cummins picked up his 10th Test five-fer (x.com)

Brief Scores: Australia (1st innings): 318 all out (96.5 overs) [Marnus Labuschagne: 63 (155), Usman Khawaja: 42 (101); Aamer Jamal 3/64 (19), Mir Hamza 2/51 (22)] & Australia (2nd innings): 187-6 (62.3 overs) [Mitchell Marsh: 96 (130), Steve Smith: 50 (176); Mir Hamza 3/27 (16), Shaheen Afridi 3/58 (18,3)] lead Pakistan (1st innings): 264 all out (73.5 overs) [Abdullah Shafique: 62 (109), Shan Masood: 54 (76); Pat Cummins 5/48 (20), Nathan Lyon 4/73 (18.5)] by 241 runs.

Australia gained a handy first-innings lead and extended the same on Day 3 of their second Test against Pakistan at the MCG.


Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon envelop PAK for 264

Australian captain Pat Cummins and leading spinner Nathan Lyon snagged the final four Pakistani wickets on offer on the third morning with relative ease. Cummins dismissed overnight batter Mohammad Rizwan while Lyon trapped tailender Shaheen Afridi in front, both within the day's opening hour.

The speedster also cleaned up Hasan Ali a while later to complete his 10th five-wicket haul in Tests, finishing the innings with figures of 5-48 from 20 overs. The off-spinner mopped up the rest of the Pakistani tail to collect four wickets at the expense of 73 runs.


Marsh, Smith lead Australian recovery

Pakistan new-ball pacemen Shaheen Afridi and Mir Hamza collectively tore through Australia’s top-order, dismissing Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head all in quick succession to have hosts rambling at 16-4 by 5.2 overs.

In a bid to extend the Australian lead after early setbacks, number six Mitchell Marsh led his side’s recovery with a 153-run partnership with Steve Smith. The all-round maverick, making the most of his early reprieves, packed 96 punches from his end until he was done in by a corker from Hamza at the brink of stumps.

At the other end, Smith chewed up 153 deliveries to list his 40th Test half-century before his dismissal at the hands of Afridi called for an early conclusion of the proceedings on Day 3. With a lead of 241 runs, unbeaten Alex Carey will resume Australia’s second innings on the fourth morning with the tail.