Pakistan took complete control of the first Test in Dubai on Tuesday by rolling Australia for just 202, giving them a lead of 280 on the first innings.
The hosts opted not to enforce the follow on and at stumps were 45 for three wickets, with Aussie spinners Jon Holland taking two wickets and Nathan Lyon another, for an overall lead of 325.
It all started so well for the tourists on day three. After a strong morning session they cruised to 137 without loss at lunch but Pakistan hit back in the afternoon to wreak havoc on the Aussies’ batting line-up as they lost all 10 wickets for just 60 runs.
Debutant Bilal Asif was the chief destroyer, taking a stunning six for 36 off 21.3 overs, including dismissing two of Australia’s three debutants – Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne – both in the same over and both without scoring.
Australia will be batting for survival at some point on day four but the way the Aussie bats performed on their first trip to the crease, everything points to a Pakistan victory to put the hosts 1-0 up in the series heading to Abu Dhabi.
What a collapse! Australia go from 142/0 to 202 all out thanks to 6/36 from debutant Bilal Asif and 4/29 from Mohammad Abbas. They trail by 280 runs, Pakistan do not enforce the follow-on.#PAKvAUS LIVE ➡️ https://t.co/sRNIJtvl02 pic.twitter.com/5cu4Q3ETXM
— ICC (@ICC) October 9, 2018
THE GOOD
Bilal Asif – Everyone was asking “Yasir Shah who?” after the debutant tormented Australia’s batting line-up, taking six wickets including five of the top seven. Meanwhile the much-feared Yasir went wicket-less with the far from impressive figures of 80-0 off 28 overs. But Asif used his height superbly to drop his off-spinners on a good length and let the pitch and poor Aussie batting do the rest. Everyone will now be asking a different question – why has it taken Asif 33 years to make his Test debut?
Aussie openers – It was all going so well in the morning session for the tourists with Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch relatively untroubled by Pakistan’s pace and spin. Finch moved smoothly to his maiden Test fifty while Khawaja, apart from a few risky reverse sweeps, looked very comfortable as he passed 60. Everything changed after Finch failed to keep an on-drive down on 62, sparking a stunning Aussie collapse.
THE BAD
Poor Australian shot selection – Australia were in command at lunch sitting on 142-0 and Pakistan looking deflated, but then poor shots from Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh opened the door for the hosts. First Finch failed to keep an on-drive down and then Marsh went for a wild swoosh down the ground which saw him edge to slip. The momentum was back with the hosts.
Yasir Shah fails to live up to expectations – So much was expected of the leg-spinner leading up to the Test, with all Australia’s plans revolving around how to counter the tricky right-armer, who was the fifth fastest bowler in Test cricket to 100 wickets. But whether he is still struggling with injury or not Yasir failed to get any bounce or bite out of the pitch – unlike the superb Bilal Asif – and even dropped a straight forward return catch from Mitchell Marsh.
In the space of 5yrs Bilal Asif's gone from quitting cricket for a job in the gulf to coming back to the Sialkot club scene, being mentored by Shoaib Malik up to domestic cricket, leading to him playing for Pak as a t20 specialist, getting banned & now back in the Gulf for this.
— Hassan Cheema (@mediagag) October 9, 2018
KEY MOMENTS
16.3: Missed stumping – Khawaja dances down the wicket and the ball spins past him down leg-side. He is way out of his ground but Sarfraz cannot gather the ball. Huge let-off for Australia.
33.1: Fifty for Finch – the opener brings up fifty in his debut Test with a lofted sweep through square leg. It also brings up the 100 for Australia without loss.
51.4: Shafiq takes a sharp catch to dismiss Finch – The Aussie opener will be kicking himself. Looking comfortable on 62, he fails to keep an on-drive down off Abbas and Shafiq, positioned at short mid-on, takes the catch. Threw away a maiden Test hundred.
62.1: Yasir drops Mitchell Marsh – with Australia on the ropes after losing three quick wickets. Shah drops a straight forward return catch from the Aussie vice-captain. The ball was moving, but not that fast, and should have been comfortably taken but Shah seemed to lose the flight of the ball.
65th over: Pakistan debutant destroys Aussie debutants – In one over Pakistan off-spinner Asif, in his maiden Test, turned the game on its head with the dismissal of two of Australia’s three debutants for ducks. Firstly Head went with hard hands at an off drive and edged to slip, and then Labuschagne prodded forward nervously and edged a bat-pad chance to short leg. It triggered the great Aussie collapse.
It's Pakistan's day in Dubai after Australia collapsed to 202 all out, but three wickets fall before stumps to leave the hosts 45/3 in their second innings, leading by 325 runs. #PAKvAUS scorecard ➡️ https://t.co/sRNIJtvl02 pic.twitter.com/xmcVk2OdLd
— ICC (@ICC) October 9, 2018
TACTICAL TURNING POINT
Pakistan change their attack
The Australians were cruising before lunch and looking well-set against the Pakistan spinners. But in the afternoon session the hosts made a clever switch, bringing on the fast bowlers to attack what they saw was a weakness around the pads of Finch and Khawaja. It worked perfectly, with first Pakistan slowing the run-rate, and then finally getting Finch to play a loose shot. The opener’s avoidable dismissal changed the game with Pakistan taking the remaining nine wickets for just 60 runs.
VERDICT
Pakistan: A+
A superb day for the hosts. Outplayed in the morning, they changed tact in the afternoon session to get the initial breakthrough and then kept their foot on the throat of the Aussie bats, refusing to let them get back up off the canvas. A winning position.
Australia: C
Hopes were very high for the Aussies’ new-look team coming into the Test, but when the blowtorch was applied the men in Baggy Green wilted away. Khawaja and Finch had given them a great platform but the rest of the batsmen folded like a house of cards.
