Lahore  ready for Pakistan, Australia showdown

LAHORE: Pakistan and Australia are set to face off in the third and final Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, starting from Monday. The series is still levelled at 0-0 after both matches ended without a result.

Draw in Rawalpindi

In Rawalpindi, after opting to bat first, the home team posted 476-4 before declaring, courtesy brilliant centuries from opener Imam-ul-Haq and veteran Azhar Ali.

In reply, the visitors also posted a competitive total of 459, thanks to half-centuries from openers Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.

In the second innings when the match came to a close, Pakistan posted 252 without losing a wicket as both openers Imam and Abdullah Shafique scored centuries.

Madness in Karachi

In the second fixture, the game was much closer compared to Rawalpindi. Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first.

The visitors posted a mammoth total of 556-9 before declaring in the first innings. Opener Khawaja played a brilliant knock of 160 off 369 balls with the help of 15 fours and a six. He was well-supported by wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey (93) and Smith (72).

In reply, the Green Caps bundled out for just 148 runs in 53 overs, thus conceding a 408-run lead in the process.

Australia, surprisingly, decided to bat again and declared after reaching 97-2 in less than 23 overs, setting Pakistan 506-run target in a minimum of 172 overs.

Then happened the unthinkable as the home team started a grand comeback. After losing two quick wickets of Imam and Azhar, Pakistan managed to bat nearly six sessions to earn an unprecedented draw, that too against strong opposition like Australia.

The star of the show was captain Babar Azam who played arguably the best innings by a captain in the fourth innings of a Test match. He scored 196 off 425 balls with the help of 21 fours and a six.

He was well-supported by young Abdullah who scored a patient 96 off 205 balls with the help of six fours and a six and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who scored a responsible unbeaten 104 off 177 balls with the help of 11 fours and a six.

Team news:

Pakistan:

While Pakistan’s miraculous comeback covers all the cracks of the performance in Karachi, it will not be a surprise if the team would like to make a few changes in the starting XI for the final fixture of the series.

Naseem Shah’s potential inclusion:

For the second Test, one of the most interesting selections was the decision to leave pacer Naseem Shah out of the playing XI, despite him being excellent on a rather slow and low track in Rawalpindi.

That decision didn’t work well for the team as the visitors posted a mammoth first innings total. In place of Naseem, the management decided to bring in Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf, both of whom missed the opening Test because of fitness issues.

However, the right-arm pacer will likely make a comeback in the starting XI in place of either of the two pacers, most likely Hasan Ali who was by far the most ineffective pacer out of the three in Karachi.

Naseem has played 10 Tests for Pakistan where he has managed to claim 21 wickets at an average of 44.66.

Masood’s possible return:

The decision to not include Shan Masood in the starting XI for the first Test left a lot of people surprised but Imam-ul-Haq grabbed the opportunity with both hands and scored centuries in both innings in Rawalpindi — thus becoming the 10th batter from Pakistan to achieve this feat.

The left-hander’s that performance would’ve been enough for any player to cement his place in the playing XI for the rest of the three-match series but just one match later, things are looking rather uncertain for the 26-year-old.

Imam’s failure in the second Test would not have raised concerns about his place in the playing XI but the manner he lost his wicket left a lot of people scratching their heads.

In the first innings, he played a reckless shot and was dismissed whereas in the second innings, he used a very important review despite being declared plumb in front.

Those decisions might prove costly for Imam and could lead to the selection of Masood who is eagerly sitting on the bench waiting for his turn.

The 32-year-old has played 25 Tests for Pakistan where he has managed to score 1,378 runs at an average of 29.31, which included four centuries and six fifties.

Spin problem:

Another interesting call to make for Pakistan team management will be the decision about whether to include leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood in place of either off-spinner Sajid Khan or left-arm spinner Nauman Ali.

Had Pakistan lost the second Test in Karachi, the decision might’ve been a simpler one but the fact that Sajid and Nauman faced important deliveries which led to the team earning a famous draw, the management might think twice before making such a call.

Just looking at the overall bowling performance, it would not come as a surprise if the team’s think tank will decide to leave either of the two for the series decider.

In Karachi, Sajid finished with figures of 2-198 whereas Nauman ended up with figures of 1-141.

Australia:

Australia would be hurting after the result in Karachi where despite dominating the first three days, the home team managed to get a draw against all odds.

That outcome might open the door for the changes in the starting XI for the all-important clash in Lahore.

Hazlewood’s selection:

One of the most notable exclusions from the second Test’s playing XI was of star pacer Josh Hazlewood who missed out at the expense of debutant Mitchell Swepson.

While the young leggie did produce a more than decent performance but was unable to secure important breakthroughs, especially in the fourth innings when he finished wicketless despite bowling as many as 53.4 overs and conceding 156 runs.

That decision might not prove to be a straightforward one, especially considering that captain Pat Cummins was full of praise for the young leg-spinner who he believed was rather unlucky to not claim any wickets.

Another important reason which would make Hazlewood’s selection a tricky decision is the pitch condition at the Gaddafi Stadium which is rather on a slow side.

But looking at the fact that Australia’s bowlers were in the field for straight two days in Karachi in scorching heat could make the coaching staff think of rotating a few of the bowlers for the series decider.

Venue record:

Gaddafi Stadium Lahore is an iconic venue in the history of Pakistan cricket but it will be the first time when the venue will host a Test match after international cricket returns back home.

Historically at the venue in the five-day format, Pakistan does not have a great record with 12 wins in 40 outings along with 6 defeats, one of which came against Australia in 1959.

The highest score at the venue (699-5) was registered by the Green Caps against arch-rivals India in 1989. Shoaib Mohammad scored a memorable 203 not out in that innings whereas he was supported by Javed Miandad (145) and Aamer Malik (113).

The lowest score by any team in Test cricket at Gaddafi Stadium is 73 which was registered by New Zealand in 2002. Star pacer Shoaib Akhtar was the destroyer in that innings with figures of 6-11.

Pakistan’s current batting coach Mohammad Yousuf has scored the most runs at the venue in Test cricket (1,125) at an outstanding average of 93.75, which included five 100s and three fifties.

Current Prime Minister and former captain Imran Khan has the most number of wickets at the venue (56) at an average of 17.62, which included three five-wicket hauls.

Venue statistics:

Difficult task for the curator

In the recently concluded Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 season, Gaddafi Stadium hosted five four-day matches and all of them ended without a result.

The concerning bit was in all matches, there were no fourth innings whereas in one fixture the teams only managed to bat once.

Looking at those numbers, it will not come as a surprise if there is another low and slow pitch for the series decider, especially because of scorching heat in Lahore.

Therefore, the curators will have their work cut out to produce a track that will be good enough to produce a result in the five days.

Expected change of venue

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed announced that the venue for the three-match ODI series and the only T20I of the ongoing tour of Australia have been moved from Rawalpindi to Lahore amid political activities in the country’s capital Islamabad.

According to Rasheed, there have been no threats for the visiting team; however, several planned rallies for and against the government in the neighbouring city can cause traffic issues and problems for the security officials.

“The matches are being shifted to Lahore because of political activities in the capital,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said at a news conference.

An official with the Australian team said they had no issues with the change.

“In many ways, it suits both teams as it means one less movement for players and officials,” he said.

However, till the filing of this report, there has not been any statement in this regard from the Pakistan Cricket Board.