Australia bowled brilliantly to complete the day against Pakistan, even if they faced difficulties against Warner, Khawaja, and Smith.
Australia defeated Pakistan by 3 wickets at stumps, scoring 187 runs (Labuschagne 44*, Khawaja 42, Head 9*, Salman 1–5).
With Marnus Labuschagne displaying tenacity on the difficult MCG surface and Australia finishing the first day of the Boxing Day Test with a strong performance, they managed to fend off Pakistan’s quick-fire attack.
It was as expected that bad weather hit Melbourne in the afternoon, delaying play for about three hours. Australia took just one wicket in the last session to establish a commanding lead despite only bowling 66 overs throughout the entire day.
After the postponed start, Labuschagne and Steven Smith left Pakistan fuming, taking advantage of the cloudy weather’s conducive batting conditions. They added 46 more runs to Pakistan’s misery before Smith was bowled by Aamer Jamal, which caused a stir when the review upheld the decision to declare Smith out even though it had initially been thought to be a caught-behind dismissal.
Shahin Afridi had controversially fired Smith before, but he was later reinstated following an investigation. Pakistan was even more frustrated as they struggled under the difficult circumstances.
Despite having faced 120 deliveries, Labuschagne, who came into the game with an average of about 35 runs this year, had to put in a lot of effort to reach his half-century.
Australia survived a nervous moment in the final over when Travis Head offered Salman Agah a chance, but Captain Shaan Masood was unable to take advantage of it. Travis Head scored nine runs before finishing undefeated.After mounting a threatening 360-run challenge in Perth, Pakistan suffered a disorganised start in Melbourne, in contrast to the explosive speed they demonstrated in the initial Test match. Khawaja and Afridi
failed to handle the hectic circumstances, and after a particularly memorable spell after lunch, Hasan Ali was fired.
With great timing, Hasan got rid of first man Usman Khawaja for 42, giving wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan a catch. Afridi attempted to pick up the pace, but his recent form did not improve, and he was eventually overtaken for a score of 46.
Australia named an unchanged playing XI in an attempt to win the Test match at home against Pakistan for the 16th time in a row.
Bowling with MCG groundsman (M.C.G.) in previous Test matches, Shaan Masood has no qualms about teaming up with Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins. While expressing his happiness with the throng of 62,000, Cummins stated that he preferred the grassy field.
Pakistan needed a quick run to gain confidence, but when opener David Warner was handed a lifeline following an early scare due to a dropped catch by Abdullah Shafique in the slips, their start went horribly wrong. Shafique, who was progressively moving to his left, had an easy opportunity when Afridi threw a ball that swung away, but Shafique’s catch eluded him.
Pakistan’s momentum faded despite Hamza’s outstanding new-ball stint, as Khawaja and Warner combined for a partnership of 90 runs. Like the building of Perth, Khawaja’s left-arm pace attack proved effective in removing the dropped Sam Curran and Imad Wasim, but left Sajid Khan unnoticed.
In the third over, Australia got off to a wicket-free start as Pakistan had a chance to break through, but Abdullah Shafique mishandled a catch from David Warner.
Warner scored 38 runs in the last Test match of his glorious career before being caught by Salman at a slip. This was the end of an incredible career. In an attempt to cap off a difficult year for Test cricket in Australia, Labuschagne laid a strong platform. The match went on despite Melbourne’s infamous weather, with rain and thunder bringing with it another forecast for the next day.With 62,000 eager spectators attending the historic Boxing Day Test, the Australian cricket summer saw the highest attendance in history. This number exceeded the four-day record set for the Branded Perth Test.
