Australia makes a strong start at Melbourne, scoring 187/3 on a rainy opening day
Published on: December 28, 2023.
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Australia vs Pakistan: Labuschagne guides Australia in rain-affected first day of second test
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne showed his resilience as he scored an unbeaten 44 runs to lead Australia through a rain-interrupted first day of play against Pakistan in the second test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood won the toss and chose to field under overcast conditions. However, Pakistan missed a golden opportunity to put Australia on the back foot early on as openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja shared a solid 90-run partnership. Warner, in his second-to-last test match, was fortunate to reach double figures after being dropped on 2 by Abdullah Shafique at slip off the bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi. Warner eventually fell for 38, getting caught at slip off Agha Salman’s bowling.
Khawaja, the leading test run-scorer in 2023, added six more runs to his total before being dismissed by Hasan Ali at 108-2. Rain then interrupted play 37 minutes before the scheduled tea break, with Australia at 114-2. The delay lasted almost three hours, but play resumed to the delight of the patient fans in the crowd. Steve Smith, on 26, survived a caught-behind appeal from Aamir Jamal after a successful review by Pakistan showed a faint edge. Smith went on to score 19 runs before again surviving an LBW appeal through a review.
Smith ended the day on 26 not out, and Labuschagne provided crucial support with an unbeaten 44. Travis Head was also unbeaten on nine at stumps. Australia finished the day at 187-3 in 66 overs.
Both teams made changes to their line-up for this match. Pakistan brought in Mohammad Rizwan as the wicketkeeper, replaced Khurram Shahzad with Mir Hamza due to a rib injury, and dropped Faheem Ashraf. Australia, on the other hand, fielded an unchanged side.
The second test will resume on Wednesday, and the third and final test of the series will begin on January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia won the first test in Perth by 360 runs.
Brief scores:
Australia 187/3 in 66 overs (David Warner 38, Usman Khawaja 42, Marnus Labuschagne batting 44; Hasan Ali 1-28, Aamer Jamal 1-47, Agha Salman 1-5) against Pakistan.
Source: [The Hans India](https://www.thehansindia.com)
