The end of the Melbourne Test was disappointing as the Pakistan team faced a 79-run defeat against Australia. As a fan of Pakistan cricket, it’s very hurtful to see the team fail once again on Australian soil.
Pakistan was bowled out for 237 runs while chasing a target of 317 in their second innings today.
After bowling out Australia for 262 earlier today, the visiting team, Pakistan, built several strong partnerships to challenge the hosts.
Pakistan’s captain, Shan Masood, led the scoring with a notable 60 runs off 71 balls, including seven boundaries.
Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman contributed 57 runs for the sixth wicket, bringing Pakistan closer to a victory. But after Rizwan’s loss, Australia quickly took the remaining wickets and secured their victory.
The Test match had moments where Pakistan seemed capable of winning, but several errors from the Pakistan team ultimately cost them the match.
The question is, what went wrong for the Pakistan team? What mistakes led to their defeat? There are specific points that should be highlighted. It’s not accurate to say that Pakistan was very close to winning this match; there were chances that the Pakistan team missed, and luck did not favor them. If these issues had not occurred, Pakistan could have won the match.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons that led to Pakistan’s defeat.
Pakistan conceded 52 runs as extras
In the first innings, Pakistan conceded 52 runs as extras. These extra runs included 20 byes, 15 leg byes (LB), 2 no-balls (NB), and 15 wides and cost Pakistan a lot as the conditions were favoring the bowling side.
Pakistan could have restricted the home side to fewer runs, but these extras helped Australia the most. Australia scored 318 runs in the first innings. If we subtract 52 runs from 318 runs, it goes down to 266. Pakistan’s first innings total was 264 runs, which is roughly the same as what the Aussies scored.
If Pakistani bowlers hadn’t given away extra runs, the Pakistan team could have trailed by only 2 runs. The match result would have been different.
Abdullah Shafique’s Dropped Catches
As we have heard many times before, catches win matches in cricket, and dropped catches can cost a team dearly. Abdullah Shafique experienced this in the 2nd Test match’s first innings. Australian opening batter David Warner was only on 2 runs when the ball took an outside edge off Warner’s bat and headed towards Abdullah Shafique at first slip. It should have been a straightforward catch, but he dropped it. The unlucky bowler was Shaheen Afridi who nearly got the wicket of Warner early.
David Warner gets a life on two! Shaheen Afridi gets the ball swinging and Abdullah Shafique puts it down at first slip #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/EJc4AptxJk
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 25, 2023
Fortunately, Warner didn’t go on to score a huge 100; he was dismissed early on for 38 runs. However, if he had taken that catch, Australia would have been under significant pressure and their innings total could have reduced by 36 runs.
The drop catches did not end with Warner; as it also continued in the second innings. Pakistan took four early wickets, and Aussies were under immense pressure as they were 16-4 at the time. The 5th wicket could have also fallen at 46-4. Mitchell Marsh was on 20 runs, and he drove the ball, which found the outside edge at the first slip to Abdullah Shafique. However, he once again dropped the catch. This time, the unlucky bowler was Aamer Jamal.
Mitchell Marsh scored 96 crucial runs, 70 more after the dropped chance, that led Australia to set a target of 317 runs. If he had taken that catch, Pakistan surely would have had a bright chance of winning the game, as half of the Australian side would have been out before reaching the 100-run mark.
"It's like a crocodile jaw trying to catch a ball."
Abdullah Shafique hands Mitch Marsh a life on 20 #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/NMlTKHn3t5
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2023
Abdullah Shaifque has now dropped a total of 4 catches in the 2 Test matches. He also dropped two catches in the first Test, and there is still one match to go.
Mohammad Rizwan’s Controversial Dismissal
Mohammad Rizwan got the chance to play in this match, and he looked very confident in both innings. However, in the 2nd innings, he raised hopes for the Pakistan team. Unfortunately, he faced a controversial dismissal as the ball went very close to his gloves. The DRS showed clear evidence that there was an impact with Rizwan’s gloves but he didn’t seem to agree with the decision.
Wicket 250 for Pat Cummins! 🎉
The third umpire decided the ball flicked Mohammad Rizwan's sweatband on the way through. #MilestoneMoment | @nrmainsurance | #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/vTuDL5DmNB
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 29, 2023
Rizwan was dismissed for 35 runs, and after his departure, the team quickly fell apart. Pakistan had a slight hope of inching towards a victory before his dismissal.
Meanwhile, the Green Shirts have lost the 3-match Test series 2-0 against Australia, with one match to go. The wait continues for Pakistan fans to beat the Aussies on their home soil in Test matches since 1995. Although they lost the series, the fans are hoping to at least win one game, break the shackles of defeat in Australia, and avoid a clean sweep.
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