PAK vs AUS: Shaheen Afridi's ripper sends David Warner's off-stump for a walk

Australian opener David Warner was cleaned up by a lovely in-swinger by left-arm-pacer Shaheen Afridi on Day 4 of the third Test match being played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The left-handed-batter was at the crease after scoring a half-century, till he saw his off-stump being uprooted by Shaheen’s venomous delivery. Incidentally, both Shaheen and Warner were involved in a light banter on Day 3.

Meanwhile, Australia declared their innings for 227/3 and extended their dominance in the match. Australian opener Usman Khawaja scored a century (104 off 178) while Marnus Labuschagne scored 36 off 58. Pakistan have been set a target of 351 runs.

Shaheen Afridi greets David Warner after the dismissal

The left-handed batter was looking comfortable at the crease until a tailing length ball by Shaheen straightened after pitching and took his off-stump with it. As Warner trudged back to the pavilion, the batter was congratulated by the left-arm-pacer for his hard-fought innings and they shared a handshake as well.

Gem from @iShaheenAfridi 🤩#BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/5biNC3CSDA

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 24, 2022

Australia started the fourth day with 11 runs on the board. Both Warner and Khawaja played cautiously in the first hour of the day. However, as soon as both the batters got their eyes in, they started to score freely, hitting boundaries in between. Warner reached his fifty in the 27th over.

Meanwhile, Pakistan had a perfect start in their first innings, as they lost only two wickets for 170 runs. However, the home-side lost eight wickets thereafter, and only scored 98 runs more as they were bundled out for 268. Skipper Cummins was the pick of the bowlers as he grabbed a five-wicket-haul by giving away just 56 runs.

The left-arm-pacer Mitchell Starc also scalped four wickets, with spinner Nathan Lyon dismissing opener Abdullah Shafique. The match is nicely poised at the moment with both teams looking to win the series.

After the Test series, Pakistan will take on the visitors in a three-match ODI series followed by a one-off T20I.