Australia v Pakistan, 3rd Test Day 4: 5 Talking Points

It was yet another day for the batsmen and for Australia as David Warner, Younis Khan, and some of the others went ahead and impressed quite a bit with some tremendous batting acumen. However, while it was a time for batsmen to rejoice, it was Josh Hazelwood who was able to impress once again with the ball. It is simply his teasing line and length that has always caught batsmen by surprise and his unrelenting patience that has also impressed one and all in recent times as well.

However, the day as has been most of the Test match belonged to the hosts. In spite of this, Sharjeel Khan defied the bowlers with some decent batting acumen as he smashed a quickfire 40 runs to begin his innings. This was quite impressive as the visitors were defiant despite the fact that they now seem to be those who are punting towards a loss for Pakistan and thereby an Australian win with one day to play. Here are five talking points from the penultimate day of the Test series.

1. Younis Khan defies Australian bowling attack

As he had done the previous day, Younis Khan once again stood in defiance of the Australian bowlers. This was coupled with some incredible batting acumen he has also shown in the past, something that has been the hallmark of the career. Once again, Younis accounted for the additional runs on the day as he smashed the ball to different parts of the ground. He remained unbeaten on 175 as Pakistan coasted up to an impressive 315. In spite of the fact that Younis did indeed make life quite tough for the Aussies, the latter did indeed conclude the day with the upper hand in terms of batsmanship.

2. Hazelwood completes formalities

A feature of Josh Hazelwood is the fact that he is once of the most relentless bowlers as far as Australia is concerned. He is clearly from the Glenn McGrath tradition, someone who bowls with incredible bowling acumen as well as someone who has amazing bowling prowess. Once again, he was called upon by skipper Steve Smith to ensure the completion of the Pakistani tail, something he has done in a couple of years he has been a part of the team. Yasir Shah and Imran Khan were the final wickets to depart as the Aussies were the beneficiaries of a sizeable lead in the first innings.

3. David Warner races away to half century

As he had done in the first innings, David Warner went ahead and smashed the ball to different parts of the Sydney Cricket Ground. However, this time around, Warner was the beneficiary of some incredibly poor Pakistani bowling and he had switched the gear to a seemingly higher one. He reached his 50 in just 23 deliveries with simply no respite for the bowlers. His compilation included 8 boundaries and 3 sixes, meaning that 50 of the 55 runs he scored came from just smashes to the fence.

4. Smith and Khawaja pile on the runs

With time being one of the most important aspects of the day’s play, it was clear that the Aussies had to get as many runs as they could before allowing Pakistan to bat again. Once again, Steve Smith ensured that the target was well and truly out of sight for the visitors especially given the events that occurred in the first Test at the GABBA. For this, Smith and Khawaja smashed the bowlers across the park with little or no problems. The smashed twin half-centuries as the Aussies raced away to 241, thus setting a target of 465 for Pakistan.

Watch: Usman Khawaja’s dab celebration

Onya Uzzie! #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/4MdxDlCt8i

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 6, 2017

5. Pakistan reply briskly with Sharjeel’s batsmanship

Sharjeel Khan is usually regarded by most as a limited overs player. However, on the penultimate day of the match, he exhibited some amazing batting acumen with a quickfire 40, something that has seen him become one of the more impressive players on the day. He played it like a T20 international and was also dismissed courtesy of some high-risk cricket as well.