Australia end the day 300 ahead with Nathan Lyon stuck on 499 Test wickets

Australia 487 lead Pakistan 271 (Imam 62, Shafique 42, Lyon 3-66) by 216 runs

But he was thwarted by Salman Ali Agha and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who ultimately holed out to part-time spinner Travis Head as the fans in the terraces groaned. Thus, Lyon will have to wait just a little bit longer to become the eighth bowler to reach the landmark, and join Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne as the only Australians to do so.

Showing no signs of fatigue after a taxing year and less than a month since Australia’s World Cup triumph, quicks Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc claimed five wickets between them. Cummins and Hazlewood, particularly, were tireless as they chipped away on a surface which appeared to be playing better than on the previous two days.

Pakistan fell away after talisman Babar Azam on 21 fell to allrounder Mitchell Marsh, whose short-of-a-length delivery had him caught behind. It continued an outstanding match for Marsh, who had made 90 in Australia’s first innings to justify the faith of the selectors to stick with him over Western Australia team-mate Cameron Green.

Pakistan lost 3 for 14 before lunch, as their hopes of avoiding a 15th straight Test defeat in Australia sank. Lyon bowled a couple of overs after lunch but could not add to his tally. Australia took the second new ball, but Starc was unable to find his earlier rhythm with one errant delivery barely pitching on the surface and flying through the slips to the boundary.

Saud Shakeel, who averaged almost 90 from his first seven Tests, feasted on the wayward bowling to continue his streak of at least reaching 20 runs in every innings of his fledgling Test career. Meanwhile, Starc left the ground after a sluggish two-over burst even as Shakeel succumbed awkwardly to a well-targeted short-delivery from Hazlewood, who was finally rewarded after terrific bowling through the innings.

With the quicks threatening with the second new ball, Lyon’s milestone appeared likely to have to wait but he returned to the attack as the tea break approached. He inched closer after debutant Aamer Jamal was stumped in a decision confirmed on replay, but he ultimately could not get the final wicket.

It was a disappointing total from Pakistan, who had mustered resistance earlier in the innings in contrast to a proactive brand of batting promised ahead of the match by new captain Shan Masood. They managed to bat 101.5 overs, but only scored at 2.66 runs an over. Resuming on the third morning at 132 for 2, Pakistan almost suffered a disastrous run out on the day’s first delivery, but nightwatcher Khurram Shahzad survived an errant shy at the stumps from Head.

It didn’t matter though, with Shahzad cleaned bowled by Cummins two balls later to bring Babar to the crease as the match entered a pivotal phase. Cummins immediately tested Babar with short-of-the-length bowling and the occasional bouncer in a riveting contest. Babar was pinned down by typically accurate Cummins bowling, and he did not get off the mark until his 13th delivery when he blasted a full delivery through the covers for a boundary.

But Babar’s dismissal rattled Pakistan, with Imam’s 199-ball defiance ending in ugly fashion when he charged down the pitch to Lyon but failed to make contact and was stumped. Starc then clean bowled Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was retained in the team over Mohammad Rizwan, with an astounding swinging delivery that knocked over off-stump.

Pakistan’s batting depth – which seemed to somewhat shape their contentious selections – did manage to ensure the innings prolonged, but the writing was on the wall.