Australia scripted history on March 25 (Friday) after they won the third Test match against Pakistan by 115 runs in Lahore. This win helped the Pat Cummins-led side in clinching the three-match Test series as eventually the visitors won a Test series in Pakistan after 24 years.
Bold declaration
Earlier, Australia decided to declare their second innings at 227/3 and asked the hosts to chase a target of 351. But Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon picked up five wickets and skipper Pat Cummins scalped three wickets to bundle out the Pakistan team within a total of 235. Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc and medium pacer Cameron Green bagged one wicket to each to help their side in winning a memorable Test match.
Pakistan opening batter Imam-ul-Haq (70 runs off 199 balls) and skipper Babar Azam (55 runs off 104 balls) showed some resistance in the second innings but eventually the hosts could not avoid the defeat.
In the first innings, Khawaja had played a terrific innings as he had scored 91 runs off 219 balls. Apart from the Aussie southpaw, Cameron Green (79 runs off 163 balls), Steven Smith (59 runs off 169 balls) and wicketkeeper Alex Carey (67 runs off 105 balls) - displayed amazing batting skills to help the visitors in reaching a total of 391.
In reply, Pakistan were bundled out for 268 in the first innings. Opening batsman Abdullah Shafique (81 runs off 228 balls) started the innings on a solid note. Later, Azhar Ali (78 runs off 208 balls) and skipper Babar Azam (67 runs off 131 balls) scored some important runs for the Pakistan side.
Khawaja's brilliance
In the second innings, Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja played another brilliant innings as he scored a ton (104 runs not out off 178 balls). Another opening batsman- David Warner- also exhibited some terrific batting skills as he scored 51 runs off 91 balls. Warner’s innings was comprised of 6 boundaries as Khawaja had smashed 8 boundaries. Eventually, Australia declared their innings after posting a total of 227 runs, losing three wickets.
In the second innings, at one point, Pakistan seemed to be well-placed at 167/4 but due to a terrible batting order collapse they lost their remaining six wickets scoring just 68 runs.
Previously, the first Test match, played in Rawalpindi, ended as a draw. There was not much difference in the results of the second Test match, played in Karachi as it ended in a draw as well.
