Ground Report | New Delhi: Karachi Test; The second Test match between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi entered the decisive phase thanks to the brilliant batting of Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafiq. In reply to Australia’s 506-run target, Pakistan scored 192 by the end of the fourth day’s play on Tuesday with only two batsmen out.
Earlier in the day, Australia declared their innings at 97 after adding 16 runs to their second innings total and set a target of 507 for Pakistan to win.
In response, Pakistan’s start of the second innings was also disappointing and Imam-ul-Haq, who scored two centuries in the Rawalpindi Test, also failed in the second innings of the second Test.
He was LBW on Nathan Lane’s ball. He also took the review while challenging the decision of the umpire but it was not successful. Pakistan’s second batsman to be dismissed was Azhar Ali, who was declared LBW for dropping a short pitch ball by Cameron Green.
The ball did not rise much and hit his body and he was also in front of the wicket so he was given out. However, the replay revealed that the ball had hit his story first. After that Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafiq handled the innings and remained cautiously on the crease till the end of the game.
Both the batsmen batted brilliantly in difficult conditions and forgot the failure of the first innings and gave a full answer to the Australian bowlers. Both the batsmen added 171 runs for the fourth wicket.
Meanwhile, Babar scored his sixth century after a two-year wait, while the young Abdullah on the crease with him also completed a half-century. Babar’s innings includes 12 fours and he is unbeaten on 102.
After the excellent performance of both the batsmen, the fifth and final day of the Test match has become interesting, where Pakistan needs 314 more runs to win while Australia needs eight wickets. Pakistan has crossed the target of 377 runs in the past and if Pakistan crosses this target, it will be a new record.
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