After Australia declares at 556/9, Pakistan is pushed back by an early wicket.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s opening batsman Abdullah Shafique returned early after a straight hit from Australia’s rookie Mitchell Swepson, which put Pakistan on the backfoot on the third day of the second Test after Australia declared at 556/9.

The opening session of the third day was exciting, as the touring team declared their innings at 556/9, and an early wicket of Abdullah shifted the game in favour of the Aussies.

Swepson’s direct hit ended the right-handed batter’s time at the plate after he scored 13 runs.

Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali, the last match’s centurion, will now resume the proceedings for Pakistan at 38/1 in the second session. Imam is now unbeaten with a total of 20, while Azhar is unbeaten with a total of four.
Resuming at 505/8, Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ explosive cameo of 34 runs boosted the visitors’ tally to 556/9, although his partner Mitchell Starc could only face two balls on the current third day and went back without adding to his overnight score of 28.

Cummins, on the other hand, combined 51 runs with the rookie for the 10th wicket, while Swepson contributed 15 runs.

Faheem Ashraf and Sajid Khan each took two wickets for Pakistan, while Nauman Ali, Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Hasan Ali each struck out a batsman.