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The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground witnessed the total dominance of Australia on December 29 as Pat Cummins' brigade annihilated Pakistan by 79 runs in the second Test. With this Kangaroos clinch the three-match Test series 2-0 with a match to spare as Pakistan's 28-year-long winless streak only extended on Australian soil.
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Captain Pat Cummins ( led from the front and bagged five wickets in the second innings, making it a 10-wicket haul for the match, to guide Australia to their back-to-back victories in the Test series against Pakistan. Mitchell Starc too chipped in with a superlative four-fer which expedited the bundling out of Pakistan on Day 4. Chasing a target of 317, Pakistan mounted a commendable effort but were bowled out for 237. The collapse of their batting order saw the final five wickets tumble for a mere 18 runs.
As the match went to the wire on Day 4, Cummins made a crucial intervention by dismissing Mohammad Rizwan, achieving his 250th wicket in Test cricket.
Pakistan, in their chase of 317, appeared to be managing well at 129/3 by tea on the fourth day, but ultimately were all out for 237.
Pakistan's middle order managed to keep them competitive, but they were unable to form a significant partnership to secure a win. Babar Azam made a contribution of 41 runs before being taken down by Josh Hazlewood, and Saud Shakeel was subsequently dismissed by Mitchell Starc, reducing Pakistan to 162 for the loss of five wickets.
Following this, Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman put on a 57-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which brought the target down to below 100 runs. However, Pat Cummins intervened to end this stand by dismissing Rizwan for 35. After this blow, Pakistan's lower batting order struggled to hold ground, succumbing to the bowling prowess of Cummins and Starc who claimed the remaining four wickets within 7.2 overs.
For Pakistan, captain Shan Masood was the top scorer with a solid 60, and Agha Salman contributed a determined 50. In the Australian bowling lineup, Mitchell Starc claimed impressive figures of 4/55, complementing Cummins' 5/49 – his second five-for in the match. This marked Cummins' second 10-wicket match haul in his 57-match career, along with 11 instances of taking five wickets in an innings. He also achieved the milestone of 250 Test wickets with his third dismissal in the second innings, bringing his total to 252.
Resuming from their overnight score of 187/6, Australia's innings on the following day saw Alex Carey, who remained not out on day 3, scoring 53, leading Australia to a second innings total of 262. Pakistani bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mir Hamza both took four wickets each, while Aamer Jamal contributed with 2/74.
Meanwhile, the third and the final match of the series will be played from January 3, 2024 in Sydney.
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