Pakistan were on top in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne after claiming four quick wickets in the second innings but Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith helped the home side get back in the game with a crucial partnership. After the initial setbacks, Australia recovered to reach 187-6 at stumps with a lead of 241 runs. Marsh and Smith’s 153-run partnership brought Australia back in the game, after they were reduced to 16-4, on a pitch that was assisting the bowlers. Marsh, who was dropped on 20 by Abdullah Shafique, scored 96 runs in 130 balls with the help of 13 fours. Salman Ali Agha took a sensational catch at first slip as Marsh was dismissed by Mir Hamza. He dived low to his right and completed a one-handed catch to end Marsh’s game-changing knock. Meanwhile, Smith was dismissed on the final ball of the day by Shaheen Afridi after scoring 50 runs. Resuming at 6-2 after lunch, Mir Hamza took two wickets in as many balls to rattle the home side. David Warner (6) chopped one onto the stumps, meanwhile Travis Head (0) was bowled by a sharp inswinger. Earlier on day three, the visitors were dismissed for 264 in their first innings in reply to Australia’s 318. Cummins ended with 5-48, while Nathan Lyon grabbed 4-73 after Pakistan’s tail wagged in Melbourne to narrow the hosts’ first-innings lead to 54. It left the Australians with a tricky 15 minutes of the morning session to negotiate, which they failed to do miserably as they slumped to 6-2 at lunch. Khawaja was out for a duck second ball, caught behind by Mohammad Rizwan off Shaheen Shah Afridi. The same combination struck again on the last ball before lunch, when Labuschagne edged down the legside to be out for five, which left David Warner the not out batsman on one at the break. Pakistan had looked comfortable in reaching 124-1 as they chased Australia’s first-innings 318. But an electric spell from Cummins in the final session on Wednesday saw them collapse to 194-6, and he was at the heart of the action again on Thursday. After light drizzle delayed the start by 45 minutes, they resumed 124 runs adrift with Rizwan on 29 and Aamer Jamal not out two. Wicketkeeper Rizwan, picked ahead of Sarfaraz Ahmed for his batting prowess, made a confident start. But he was no match for a canny Cummins, who tempted him into a drive that flew straight to David Warner who had just been moved to cover from slip. Rizwan was gone for 42 to end a 45-run partnership with Jamal, who started to play shots with new partner Afridi as they chipped away at the lead. An enterprising Afridi crunched four boundaries before he was undone by Lyon’s spin, trapped lbw for 21. Jamal looked in good touch, finding the ropes three times in six balls at one point in his 33 not out. Cummins grabbed his fifth wicket to dismiss Hasan Ali for two with a delivery that took out his off stump. Lyon then had Mir Hamza stumped for two to collect his 505th Test wicket.
Melbourne Test: Marsh’s 96 leads Australia fightback after Pakistan blitz
