Usman Khawaja’s marathon innings was finally ended on 160 as the spinners started to have an impact
Tea Australia 407 for 7 (Carey 26*, Starc 1*) vs Pakistan
Australia reached tea at 407 for 7 with Alex Carey unbeaten on 26 and Mitchell Starc on 1. With batting having totally dominated the series thus far amid sedate conditions, Pakistan threatened on a pitch coming to life but Australia continued to have a firm grip after Khawaja’s indefatigable 369-ball innings.
His 11th Test century – and first in the country of his birth – was marked by unwavering concentration, where Khawaja blunted Pakistan’s attack but he could only score 33 runs off 103 balls on day two underlining the changing nature of the pitch, which is expected to further deteriorate.
Khawaja’s innings ended midway through the second session when he was bowled by a cracker of a delivery from offspinner Sajid Khan, who produced drift and sharp turn to hit the top of off stump.
In his first innings in the city his family hails from, Khawaja fell just short of his highest Test score of 174 against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2015. But he departed to a standing ovation from a boisterous crowd after becoming the first Australian Test centurion in Pakistan since Mark Waugh’s 117 in the third Test in 1998.
It was left to Carey and Cameron Green to navigate Australia to tea in a session where they resisted the temptation of accelerating. Having gone 10 overs without a boundary, Australia broke the shackles when Carey hit Sajid for a straight six and Green started to look more comfortable before he fell on the stroke of tea after being bowled by a sharp delivery from left-arm spinner Nauman Ali.
With a platform built due to Khawaja’s heroics, there had been intrigue at lunch over whether Australia would put the foot down in a contrast to Pakistan’s measured batting when in a similar position in the first Test en route to a stale draw. But Australia was unable to against probing bowling on a pitch showing the first signs of encouragement for bowlers seven days into the series.
Unlike the lifeless Rawalpindi pitch in the first Test, variable bounce and reverse swing was evident while Sajid menaced with flight and quicker deliveries to bounce back after notably struggling on the opening day where he pursued a defensive line of bowling before and after tea.
Having been inconsistent throughout the match, in a letdown following his standout effort in Rawalpindi, quick Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled a terrific spell after lunch with a succession of nasty reverse swinging yorkers only to be thwarted by Khawaja’s broad defensive bat.
The quick formed a nice tandem with Sajid, who was rewarded for a good spell either side of lunch by trapping Travis Head lbw for 23 with a tossed up delivery that straightened. After unsuccessfully reviewing, player of the Ashes Head has only managed 31 runs across two innings in a slow start to the series.
With Australia resuming day two at 251 for 3, Khawaja was mostly a bystander in the first hour as he took a back seat to nightwatchman Nathan Lyon who dominated a 54-run partnership with an attractive 38.
Lyon rode some good fortune and frustrated Pakistan by counterattacking Shaheen’s bumper barrage. In trademark cavalier fashion, Lyon was unperturbed by the stacked leg slide field as he swiftly increased the run rate, which had crawled for Australia in the back half of the opening day due to negative bowling from Pakistan.
But his hopes of finally notching a maiden Test half-century were dashed when Lyon was comprehensively bowled by allrounder Faheem Ashraf in Pakistan’s only success in the morning session.
Pakistan rebounded strongly in the second session, but remained on the back foot amid hot conditions in their fortress of Karachi, where the temperature again hovers in the mid-30s.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth