Pakistan vs Australia: Shoaib Akhtar in awe of Mohammad Abbas' superb bowling

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was all praises of the country’s latest pace sensation Mohammad Abbas for his exceptional spell against Australia. Pakistan are currently taking on an inexperienced Australian side in the second of the two-Test match series in the UAE.

After a shaky start and some serious damage caused by off-spinner Nathan Lyon, skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and debutant Fakhar Zaman began a rescue operation to lift the hosts to a respectable first innings total of 282. Pakistan’s bowlers, led by Abbas, then tore through the Australian batting line-up.

Mohammad Abbas finished the first innings with outstanding figures of 5 for 33, including 4 maidens. He thus became the joint second fastest Pakistani bowler to fifty Test wickets, sharing the spot with the great Waqar Younis as well as Mohammad Asif. The records keep coming for Abbas, and while many Pakistani bowlers have shown flair early on in their careers and have subsequently fizzled out, Abbas looks like he’s here to stay.

Abbas’ insatiable hunger for wickets

The paceman started by removing the in-form Usman Khawaja for three runs late on the first day and then got rid of the nightwatchman Peter Siddle who was trapped leg before after having lasted 10 balls. But Abbas was still hungry for more and came back the next morning to snaffle the key wickets of Shaun Marsh and Travis Head. The visitors soon found themselves reeling at 56/4, Abbas being the only wicket-taker until then.

The 28-year-old then came back later in the day to dismiss the dangerous Mitchell Starc, who was looking to tee off after racing to 34. The speedster had picked up yet another five-for in Test cricket and this time registered his best figures as well. Australia were bundled out for a paltry total of 145.

His notable first-innings spell came on the back of the Dubai Test where he picked up a total of seven wickets while the spinners did most of the damage. However, Khawaja’s gritty century meant Pakistan were denied what should have otherwise been an easy victory.

With three days to play and a lead of close to 300 runs in the second innings as well as eight wickets in hand, Pakistan are the favourites to win the second Test at Abu Dhabi. Shoaib Akhtar was particularly impressed with Mohammad Abbas’s performance with the ball, and took to Twitter to say, “Wow what a come back from green caps .. I must say Abbas is something else simply great medium fast bowling spell i ever seen ..”

Wow what a come back from green caps ..
I must say Abbas is something else simply great medium fast bowling spell i ever seen ..

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 17, 2018

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