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Pakistan should not have any problems wrapping up the first Test against Dubai unless Australia’s Steven Smith and co. can emulate the exploits of Faf du Plessis from Adelaide 2012. You can follow the live blog of the fifth day of this first Test starting 4 pm AEST.
Going into the Test, Australia were always going to be tested by spin and reverse swing. The ball did not hoop around much when it became old but come the third and the fourth day, the pitch had begun to offer enough turn for the spinners.
Unfortunately for Australia, their spinners, Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe failed to get much out of it even on the fourth day, which begged the question whether the track had spin but it was too slow for anyone to exploit.
Zulfiqar Babar and debutant Yasir Shah proved otherwise. The pair troubled the Australian batsmen enough even before they collapsed and in the end, it was a matter of one wicket bringing three more.
David Warner continued to look the most proficient of all the Australian batsmen on display in this game but it was one indiscretion that brought his downfall. In that same over, Alex Doolan gave his critics some more ammunition when he was sent back by Babar for a duck – playing back to a delivery he should have been going forward.
Michael Clarke’s woes with the bat continued but he might have only himself to blame. The ball hit the pad off an inside edge and Clarke, after a long deliberation with his non-striker, refused to take the review and walked off. Nightwatchman Nathan Lyon survived two balls before he was out lbw too.
All this while, Rogers was fighting his own demons, borne out of the conditions and the superb control that Babar and Yasir were exhibiting. In a repeat of his effort from the first innings, he used up 77 balls for his unbeaten 23. Smith was giving him company on 3.
The pair have Brad Haddin and Mitchell Marsh as their last recognised batting pair at the crease, and between the four of them they need an equivalent of that massive effort in Adelaide two years ago from du Plessis and co. to save this game.
Unfortunately for Australia, du Plessis had conditions that suited his style of play while the Aussie batsmen are playing on a track that’s alien to their cricketing DNA.
They showed it in India in 2013 that batting on such pitches isn’t their favourite pastime and it has, so far, seemed like nothing’s changed.
Australia should be able to take a lot of heart from the fact that Pakistan batted 78 overs in their third innings and lost just two wickets – one of which was when the acceleration was on and they were looking for quick runs.
Playing out for a draw isn’t something Australia are too used to in recent times and it looks quite doubtful they will be able to do much of that here. A 1-0 score to Pakistan looks the most likely result.
Join me for the fifth day of this 1st Test between Pakistan and Australia on Saturday here and you can follow the live score of this game from 4 pm and post your comments below.
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