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Star speedster Josh Hazlewood's stellar bowling performance has set Australia on course for a possible 3-0 series clean sweep, following his devastating triple-wicket maiden that broke Pakistani batters' back on Day 3 of the third Test at the SCG on January 5, Friday. Pakistan concluded the day at 68/7, leading by 82 runs, in a dramatic Friday that saw 15 wickets fall and momentum swing between both teams. Despite needing to bat last on a deteriorating SCG pitch, Australia appear to be in a commanding position, especially after Hazlewood ended the day with remarkable bowling figures of 4/9.
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Pakistan, who were somewhat hopeful at 67/4 late in the day, were undone by 32-year-old Hazlewood's blitzkrieg. Returning for a late over, he immediately made an impact by dismissing Saud Shakeel for two at slip and then bowling Sajid Khan for a duck. Pakistan's morale was further shattered when Hazlewood's fifth ball in the over led to Agha Salman being caught by David Warner at first slip without scoring.
Earlier in the innings, Hazlewood had also claimed the crucial wicket of Shan Masood for a golden duck, caught behind, which left Pakistan struggling at 1-2 early on.
Mitchell Starc delivered a standout performance against opener Abdullah Shafique, dismissing him with the highlight delivery of the Test that swung and cut back sharply to beat the bat and pad, resulting in Shafique's second duck of the match.
Pakistan's resilience was primarily shown by Said Ayub, who scored 33, and Babar Azam with 23 runs. However, their wickets, taken by Nathan Lyon and Travis Head respectively, set the stage for Hazlewood's impressive bowling spell.
Despite this, Pakistan had the upper hand for most of Friday. Marnus Labuschagne's 60 and Mitch Marsh's 54 helped Australia inch towards parity. Pakistan then remarkably took 10 wickets for just 5 runs late in their innings, gaining a 14-run lead and becoming the first visiting team to secure a first-innings lead in Australia since India in the 2020 Boxing Day Test.
Australia experienced a batting collapse, losing 18 runs for 3 wickets around lunchtime, despite a 79-run partnership between Steve Smith (38) and Labuschagne for the third wicket. Marsh and Alex Carey (38) later added 84 runs for the sixth wicket, with Marsh's fifty marking his sixth score over 50 since returning to the team six months ago.
Mitch Marsh, known for his aggressive batting and powerful drives since his return, adopted a more cautious approach in Friday's innings.
He narrowly escaped being out at seven runs, benefiting from debutant Ayub's hesitancy at mid-off shortly after lunch, and later had an lbw decision reversed when he was at 31.
Marsh batted assertively otherwise, with a particularly striking boundary through cover off Mir Hamza's bowling being a highlight.
However, the momentum shifted when Alex Carey was dismissed on the final ball before tea, off a delivery by Sajid Khan that grazed the leg bail following a deflection from his hip. This led to a rapid collapse of the Australian side.
Post-tea, Marsh was caught out directly to cover from Aamir Jamal's bowling. Jamal then proceeded to dismantle the remaining Australian batsmen, ending with impressive figures of 6/69.
This performance further established Aamir Jamal as one of Pakistan's standout discoveries on the tour. Yet, following Hazlewood's exceptional bowling later on Friday, it appears increasingly likely that Pakistan will conclude their tour in Australia without securing a victory.
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