Twitter Reactions: Pakistan keep Australia in check despite fifties from Usman Khwaja and Steve Smith

Australia ended the day on 232/5 after 88 overs.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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Pakistan. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The third and final Test match of the ongoing Pakistan and Australia series commenced on March 21 (Monday). After flat tracks in the first two games, the surface in Lahore proved to be slow and low on the opening day itself, with the visitors ending the day on 232/5 thanks to fifties from Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja.

Earlier, Australia elected to bat first only to get off to a disastrous start. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi struck early not once, but twice giving Pakistan the dream start that they required. With two early wickets, the left-arm seamer gave local supporters a reason to celebrate.

In his second over, the 21-year-old dismissed opener David Warner for seven runs and number three batter Marnus Labuschagne for a duck leaving Australia reeling at 8/2. Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja put on a show then as they shared an unbeaten stand of 62 runs for the third wicket, and took their team to 70/2 at lunch. Khawaja remained undefeated on 31* while Smith was on 28*.

Pakistanโ€™s errors help Australia build

Australia could have been in even more danger, if Pakistan had taken advantage of opportunities presented by both Khawaja and Smith. But the Aussies had their luck factor working. Both the batters were dropped back-to-back on two deliveries. Babar Azam dropped Khawajaโ€™s catch when the batter was on 12, and on the very next delivery, Nauman Ali dropped Smith on 19. The two batters were steady till the end of the second session.

As the third session began, Naseem Shah picked Steve Smith for 59 to break the 138-run stand for the third wicket. Khawaja was intact for a long period of time. He was dismissed at a later stage, as soon as he entered his 90s, by Sajid Khan. The left-hander fell short of nine runs as he walked back scoring 91 runs in 219 balls. In the same session, Naseem added a second wicket to his tally dismissing Travis Head.

The day ended with Pakistan bowlers picking five wickets, and the Aussies scoring 232 runs in 88 overs. The final session was in favor of the hosts as they broke the third-wicket partnership, and dismissed the set players. Middle-order batters Cameron Green, 20*(48), and Alex Carey, 8*(15), will be fighting tooth and nail to keep Australia in contention on the second day.

Pakistan, on the other hand, will be keen on restricting Australia to a total below 300 which will be a great effort given that there was not much spin or swing on offer for the bowlers on the opening day.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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