PAK vs AUS: Pat Cummins' sensational catch to dismiss Azhar Ali stuns all

The third Test match between Pakistan and Australia is nicely poised with the home side batting at 136/2 at Lunch, while chasing a target of 351 runs on the day five wicket of the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Meanwhile, Australia declared their second innings on a score of 227/3 and gave a target of 351 to the home side.

To note, Pakistan in their first innings were batting superbly at a score of 214/2, till Australian skipper Pat Cummins took a sensational catch off his own bowling to end Pakistan batter Azhar Ali’s innings on 78. Cummins’ blinder of a catch brought his side back in the game, as the home side started to lose the wickets on regular intervals after the dismissal of Azhar Ali. From 214/2, Pakistan were bundled out for 268 runs in 116.4 overs.

Pat Cummins bagged a five-wicket haul in the first innings

The right-arm pacer wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s lower-batting order as he scalped Sajid Khan, Nauman Ali, and Hasan Ali, before getting the wickets of opener Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali.

Coming back to Azhar’s dismissal, the Australian skipper was in the middle of a spell as he was regularly clocking the 135km/h mark. The right-arm pacer took an excellent reflex catch on his fourth ball of the 86th over.

The 37-year-old batter attempted a straight drive on a fullish-length delivery bowled by Cummins. The batter had played the shot to perfection. However, Ali could not keep the ball down to the ground as he was grabbed by the Australian skipper. The right-arm-pacer, after completing the catch threw the ball in the air and pumped his fist, while he was joined by his teammates.

Pat Cummins is perfection – What a catch.pic.twitter.com/5UIzgNwrfr

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 23, 2022

Even the commentator, Mike Haysman was amused with the “sensational” catch from skipper Cummins. “What a catch, what a catch that was! That was absolutely sensational from Pat Cummins! A remarkable catch,” Haysman was heard during commentary. Meanwhile, the senior Pakistani batter also stood in disbelief before trudging back to the pavilion as Australia managed to break a gritty partnership between Ali and skipper Babar Azam.