Pakistan end the day at 142/4, losing Younis Khan in Misbah-ul-Haq before the rain came down at the MCG.

By Abdullah Ansari (26th December, 2016)

Toss: Pakistan won the toss, Misbah-ul-Haq opted to bat first.

Teams

Australia: MT Renshaw, DA Warner, UT Khawaja, SPD Smith (c), PSP Handscomb, NJ Maddinson, MS Wade (wk), MA Starc, JR Hazlewood, NM Lyon, JM Bird.

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz.

The day began positively for Pakistan as the captain won the toss and opted to bat first, making just one change with Sohail replacing Rahat. The openers were circumspect as ever, surviving a few close calls as Azhar left one alone that was too close for comfort, but was bouncing over the stumps. Sami faced a major struggle to get some runs while Azhar had a few quiet periods as well - the latter was the more composed in such situations. Sami became the first wicket to fall as Lyon came on to bowl and had him caught at slip on the third ball with the ball turning sharply. Once again, it was a huge struggle for Sami as he made 9 off 41 deliveries. Babar came to bat with a positive outlook and it almost saw another few chances created by the bowlers - but the batsmen did his job right until the last ball of the session as Hazlewood went wide of the crease, forcing Babar to play at one which he edged behind to leave Pakistan at 60/2.

Australia were on the attack after Lunch with Younis joining Azhar at the crease. The veteran got off the mark quickly but got bogged down a little after that, as Australia bowled tightly and patiently with less assistance on offer. Younis was less exaggerated in his movements as he looked to get into better positions to play the ball and it almost cost him dearly as he was ruled out LBW. However, he reviewed with the ball missing the leg-stump. Azhar surpassed fifty in the meantime until Younis perished on 21 as he left a gaping hole between bat and pad for Bird to exploit with his rhythmic bowling. Misbah started with a boom, taking Lyon down town for a six to indicate his intentions but he soon fell to Bird also, inside edging one with Maddinson taking a superb catch at short leg. Shafiq and Azhar looked more composed at the crease than the last two batsmen to be dismissed as Pakistan ended the session at 142/4.

The second session ended prematurely, a few minutes ahead of time due to rain and that proved to be it for the day as well with no further play possible. The match will start half an hour early on the remaining 4 days - Azhar Ali on 66*, Asad Shafiq on 4*.

Summary: It was a day of small margins but Australia are likely to be the happier side at the end of Day 1. Taking the wicket of Babar just before Lunch and then the two veterans in the 2nd session ensured that they never allowed Pakistan to be in a position of comfort. Much responsibility lies on the shoulders' of Azhar and Asad to take Pakistan to a competitive first-innings total on Day 2 and to avoid a low first-innings score which would give Australia an opening to run away with the game. The pitch looked to be very good for batting, and Pakistan would ideally like to somehow post 400+ first up.

Fall of wickets:

1-18 (Sami Aslam, 11.3 ov)
2-60 (Babar Azam, 25.6 ov)
3-111 (Younis Khan, 42.1 ov)
4-125 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 46.5 ov)

Discuss!