Pak vs Australia 1st Test Day 3 Live Scores: Hello and welcome to our live coverage from Day 3 of Pakistan vs Australia, 1st Test match from Rawalpindi.
Big centuries from Azhar Ali (185) and Imam-ul-Haq (157) helped Pakistan post big scores in the first innings and continue to dominate Australia on the second day of the first Test of the three-match series on Saturday.
Azhar’s marathon innings of 361 balls came to an end in the middle of the final session, when he quickly fell in search of runs as Pakistan declared their first innings total of 476 runs. In reply, Australia were scoring 5 for no loss, yet Usman Khawaja (with 5) was trailing at 471. not out) and David Warner (0 not out) at the crease, when bad light stopped play in the final session of Day 2.
Continuing with an overnight score of 245/1, Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali continued to pile on the visitors’ misery. Despite having wickets in hand, the batsmen were cautious in their approach and forced Australia’s bowlers to work harder in Rawalpindi.
In the first session of the day, just 57 runs came in 25 overs, which included only four boundaries with the bat. When Pakistan went to lunch at 302/1, Imam scored 150.
Azhar Ali also reached his triple figure but his heart was in his mouth as the ball struck the fielder over mid-on. In the end there was some cause for celebration for Australia as Pat Cummins finally ended Imam’s innings, trapping him for 157 in front of the stumps. The wicket ended a massive partnership of 208 runs between the third wicket pair.
Babar Azam and Ali added some urgency to the scoring, finding boundaries with more regularity to keep the scoreboard ticking. The six-over phase between 127-132 overs saw Pakistan clocking in at over six runs per over.
An ICC report said that Ali soon scored 150 for the sixth time in Test cricket as the hosts went into a dominant position for tea and added 92 runs in the second session.
Having achieved another milestone, Ali started the attack with three boundaries in the first over after the break. Soon, Australia got their second wicket of the day, thanks to Marnus Labuschagne doing some brilliant work in the field. A straight hit took Babar out of the crease, ending the 101 run partnership between the two.
Ali looked set to score a double century, but a crowded moment saw him attempt a reverse sweep against Labuschagne’s part-time spin. He only managed top-edge and Cameron Green completed a fine catch at short third.
Pakistan eventually declared the innings at 476/4, having a hard time getting past the stumps. Thankfully for Australia, they only faced one over as bad light forced the players to leave the field early.
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