Australia v Pakistan, 2nd Test Day 5: 5 Talking Points

What we all saw on the final day’s play at the MCG was some tremendous and old fashioned cricket from Australia who managed to kill the game off despite the days that were marred by rains. The innings defeat almost erases all the good things that have seemingly taken place in the match as far as Pakistan is concerned. Azhar Ali’s double century almost seems like a vanity in the light of what Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc were able to do on the day.

Azhar Ali however, was far from done. He rallied quite a bit before he eventually was picked up by Josh Hazelwood. The series win sees the Australians make their move out of a rut they had played themselves in recent times. While Starc was a massive player on the final day as far as Australia was concerned, it was clear that there were a lot more talking points on the day as well.

1. Smith moves on from strength to strength

The previous day had seen the rain put a halt on what was quite clearly a Steve Smith Carnival. However, while all of this was taking place with the rain and the wicket as well, it was clear that the Australian skipper was far from finished. The plan was clear to make the Pakistanis bat for the most of the day and make attempts to bowl them out. This meant that the likes of Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc had a few minutes to swing the bat and hope for the runs to follow. Smith went from coast to coast with a few heaves, swings, bunts, and pints to smash his way to what was an impressive 165. What is more impressive is the fact that he managed to remain unbeaten all through, something you generally do not see when it comes to playing high-risk cricket.

2. Mitchell Starc becomes the crowd puller with the bat

Mitchell Starc became an instant hit for the Melbourne Crowd on Friday courtesy of his exploits with the bat. Of course, it was quite clear that he had a very short amount of time to have a bat, but the fact of the matter remained that he was one who could clear the massive Melbourne fence with those massive arms he uses to hurl in those thunderbolts whilst bowling. He joined Steve Smith shortly after the latter reached his 150 and then unleashed what can only be viewed as a massive blitz on the Pakistani bowling attack. He swung the bat and it was his day, something that ensured that it was indeed a Pakistani nightmare after all. He slammed 84 from 91 deliveries. However, a hallmark of this knock was the simple fact that he used the ‘stand and deliver’ manner of batting, meaning that the 11 hits that went either to or over the fence accounted for

He swung the bat and it was his day, something that ensured that it was indeed a Pakistani nightmare after all. He slammed 84 from 91 deliveries. However, a hallmark of this knock was the simple fact that he used the ‘stand and deliver’ manner of batting, meaning that the 11 hits that went either to or over the fence accounted for 58 of those 84 runs, something you do not often see in Test match cricket.

3. Azhar Ali once again leads the resistance

If there has been one player who ahs profited from the Melbourne Test match donning a Pakistan jersey, it would certainly be Azhar Ali. Of course, it would have been a fantastic learning curve for most of the Pakistan players in the side, but the way Azhar Ali batted simply goes on to reinforce the fact that he has a fair wind in his sails when it comes to playing cricket overseas. While Azhar’s unbeaten 205 in the first innings showed the character that he is certainly capable of, he once again began exhibiting the similar character in the second innings before being trapped by Josh Hazelwood. He slammed 43, something that was hugely appreciated by the MCG crowd.

4. Nathan Lyon rips through middle order

Nathan Lyon is not the most popular person in the Australian ranks at the moment. However, one thing that is certain about the 28-year old is the fact that he never gives up, something that is a massive thing in Lyon’s arsenal. He put this arsenal to use once again on the final day’s play in the wild hopes of being a part of the upcoming Test match against Pakistan in Sydney. Lyon went on to capture the wickets of Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, and Misbah-ul-Haq, three extremely important wickets in the grand scheme of things as far as Pakistan was concerned. However, at the moment, Lyon looks to be one of those who will play in Sydney in the third and final Test.

5. Starc cracks open Pakistan with the ball

What succeeded Nathan Lyon’s impressive bowling performance was the impressive Mitchell Starc. He was simply hurling thunderbolts into the feet of the Australian batsmen. He was, of course, feeding off the scraps left by Josh Hazelwood as he went on to cahs in and take the wickets that mattered most, including the final wicket of Yasir Shah who was prompty caught by Jackson Bird at mid-off to conclude the Test match.