Australia’s opening stand stretched their lead to over 200 on the fourth day
Lunch Australia 391 and 97 for 1 lead Pakistan 268 by 220 runs
David Warner fell for 51 on the stroke of lunch to a spectacular delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi, but Australia’s lead grew past 200 to deflate Pakistan’s hopes of a fightback in the series deciding third Test.
After taking a first innings lead of 123, Australia’s momentum continued with a dominant opening session to reach lunch on day four at 97 for 1 with Usman Khawaja not out 44 and Marnus Labuschagne yet to score. They lead by 220 runs and might be tempted to put the foot down after lunch in a bid to force a declaration later in the day.
But Pakistan’s sagging spirit lifted when Afridi conjured an unplayable delivery much like his counterparts Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc produced late on day three when he uprooted Warner’s off stump. In a nod to the delivery, Warner shook Afridi’s hand on his way off to continue the friendly nature between the combatants.
Even though they started day four in a commanding position, an upbeat Australia was wary of complacency having been unable to emerge victorious from an impregnable position in the second Test.
Resuming at 11 for 0 after surviving three tricky overs before stumps, Warner and Khawaja blunted Pakistan’s attack but also looked for runs with Australia hoping to move the match forward as they eye a series victory after draws in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
They had some luck on a slow Lahore surface playing occasional tricks with Warner playing and missing at a good length delivery from Hasan Ali in the sixth over only for replays later to confirm a thin edge. A hapless Pakistan was left to rue not appealing as Hasan could only grin when he saw the replay.
Things went from bad to worse for Pakistan when young quick Naseem Shah, who was spectacular in Australia’s first innings, bowled Khawaja for 31 with a cracking delivery only to have overstepped.
Khawaja, Australia’s sole centurion of the series, lost his earlier fluency and only an inside edge saved him from being trapped lbw by Hasan as Pakistan lost a review.
After a disastrous final hour on day three, where they collapsed to lose 7 for 20, Pakistan needed to regroup and take wickets quickly if they were to provide a new twist in this see-saw contest. But with their confidence shaken, Pakistan appeared to go through the motions at the start of play and their hopes of clawing back into the match is in serious peril.
Having engaged in a good natured standoff to end day three, in a hilarious image that has since gone viral, Afridi and Warner renewed their battle but the left-arm quick’s mood deteriorated when he was smashed for three boundaries.
A vintage Warner was in an aggressive mood as Australia scored briskly at over four runs an over before Pakistan pulled back the rate through Naseem’s sustained accuracy. He broke the shackles by expertly using his feet and hitting spinner Sajid Khan over mid-on to the boundary then swept left-arm spinner Nauman Ali for six to get his innings back on track.
Warner was left animated when the umpires appeared to insinuate that he was walking onto the pitch after deliveries but once again the veteran batter seemed to diffuse the situation with a smile.
Even though Afridi had the last laugh over his friendly foe, Australia remained very much in the ascendancy.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth