Australia Reach 187/3 On A Damp Opening Day At Melbourne

Australia reach 187/3 on a damp opening day at Melbourne (Image Source: IANS)

Boxing Day Test: On a rain-marred day, Australia's batters survived some testing times against a charged-up Pakistan bowling attack to reach 187/3 in 66 overs in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Tuesday.

The battle faced by batters could be seen on a score sheet that showed all of Australia's top-order made starts – David Warner (38), Usman Khawaja (42) and Steve Smith (26) – with none able to push on to a half-century.

On a damp day in Melbourne, openers Warner and Khawaja put on 90 runs for the opening wicket partnership to give their team a good start.

They lost their way a bit and recovered as the first day ended at 187/3, a score that would satisfy both the teams -- Australia, who won the first Test to 360 runs, happy that they are in a position from which they can post a big score on the second day.

Marnus Labuschagne was batting on 44 off 120 balls while Travis Head kept him company on 9 off 19 balls.

Labuschagne survived almost three hours at the crease, plus the mid-afternoon rain break that cost around 90 minutes of playing time, to end the day in sight of a hard-earned half-century.

He was on 14 from 47 balls when the downpour hit an hour after lunch. He then withstood some quality seam bowling throughout his stay that did not yield a boundary until the 76th delivery he faced.

Prior to the first rain break, Smith and Labuschagne had laboured for almost 10 overs to chisel out six runs and Smith might have perished soon after the resumption if Babar Azam had been able to pluck a scorching, low-chance diving to his right at extra cover when the prolific batter was on 10.

Smith was granted another reprieve on 19 when adjudged lbw by umpire Michael Gough, but the decision was overturned on the former captain's immediate review which confirmed his view the delivery from Shaheen was bouncing over the leg stump.

However, the 34-year-old's fortune finally ended in the following over when Pakistan chose to review an unsuccessful decision for a catch behind the wicket with technology confirming the faintest edge to send Smith on his way for 26.

Pakistan's four-pronged pace attack had a good start as the final delivery of spearhead Shaheen Afridi's second over saw Warner anchored to the crease and fending as the full ball shaped perfectly away with the resultant edge flying at knee height to first slip. But Abdullah Shafique could not pouch the catch.

However, Warner and Khawaja survived some difficult conditions and testing deliveries as they struggled to find fluency and

Warner's struggle was best illustrated by his attempted reprise of the audacious crouching lap shot he unfurled in Perth, but the lower bounce and slower pace of the MCG pitch meant instead of clearing the fine leg fence, it instead dribbled from the toe of his bat through mid-wicket.

His 90-run opening stand with Khawaja proved an invaluable foundation as the weather closed in during the afternoon session, and batting became increasingly problematic as the light dramatically deteriorated.

Khawaja seemed destined for his 10th score of 50 or above in his 23rd innings of 2023 but added just six to his lunch score from 21 balls faced after the break before he also fell in trying to lift the scoring rate.

Amid an impressive post-lunch spell from Hasan, the left-hander attempted a dab to third from a delivery pitched too close and which bounced more than he expected with the catch he presented to second slip resembling the pre-match drills performed by fielding coaches.

Over the next 40 minutes, Hasan and Shaheen pressed repeatedly for a follow-up breakthrough as the ball began to swing beneath the heavy cloud with the MCG floodlights ablaze and severe weather warnings flashing from the ground's electronic scoreboards.

Despite playing and missing several times and demonstrably showing their frustration at the difficulties they faced in combating the moving ball in the gathering gloom, Smith and Labuschagne remained unbeaten when the rain first arrived with Australia 114/2. They took the score past the 150 score before Smith perished, edging back to Mohd Rizwan off Aamer Jamal.

Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head then kept them in the hunt.

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.