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You expect the Boxing Day Test match to be "Box Office" stuff and this indeed was a Test Match to remember. Australia were outstanding but a word of appreciation is also due for the Pakistanis who pushed them really hard. It's the brand of cricket that the Australian public love to see and the attendance throughout this game was a reflection of that. For now, it's Soumarya Dutta signing off on behalf of Probuddha! Buh-bye and see you soon!
As the Test match comes to a close, here's a recap of the moment that changed it all and gave Australia the sniff to come back into it and win it eventually within just 30 mins.
Pat Cummins - Player of the match and Australian Captain " I love playing here and Boxing day is the biggest test match in the calender and in the last few years this wicket has been good for us quicks. I like the uneven bounce of the surface and helps me to execute my plans. Was a bit "twitchy" when they got it down to below 100 and i felt that we were a bit short perhaps. Smudge and Marsh did really well and got us back into the game and gave us something to defend. Even at 4/16, the change room was calm and there is trust and support for each other. It's been a crazy year with lots of cricket and loads of success and the lads will look back at it as a special one.
Shan Masood (Pakistan Captain): Yeah like I said before that we have to look at the bigger picture. There was a lot of positives to take from the game. We might say that we could have done this or could have done that but that does not matter in the end. You look at the efforts and we were in a winning position at one stage that is something heartening to see. We did let slip away a few moments and that is when we were outplayed. Australia are a quality side and if give them even a bit of sniff which we did, you end up on the losing side. A lot to work on but this is the blue print that we need to play Test cricket. Like I said Australia are ruthless, you need to convert the 50s to 100s. I am very happy about how we played the game and we will take the positives to Sydney. I would just take a moment to thank the ground staffs, this was one of the best grounds we have played a Test on.
Mitchell Marsh: Cricket has a funny way of working out I guess. There were a few tense moments throughout the four days. Their bowling did some great work and had us one our toes. That was another one that goes to the potluck (the catch). I just watched the ball and tried to get close to it. Whenever you are defending 300 runs you get chances to cease some moments. Pat Cummins is doing it for us regularly and he is an absolute superstar. Yeah we have about four days rest. We will relax a bit and then head over to the next game.
Match Summary Australia 318 & 262 | Pakistan 264 & 237
Right, this has been an absolutely nerve wracking session of Test Match cricket here at the MCG. The momentum swung from one end to the other but in the end, it was the Hosts that finished things off in a jiffy. All it took was one Pat Cummins spell to swing a game that looked 50-50 even half an hour back. This will definitely go down as one of the better games of Test Cricket on Australian soil and it will be safe to say that the visitors played their part in it too.
Pakistan started the session with Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel looking pretty good out there till Hazlewood broke through and uprooted the stumps of Babar Azam, the star Pakistan batter. Mitchell Starc joined the party soon after as he got rid of Saud Shakeel who threw his wicket away with a loose shot and Australia seemed to be running away with the game.
Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman fought back really well and build up a 50 plus partnership between themselves. As the duo attacked Nathan Lyon and started to squeez in the boundaries, the Aussies were feeling the pressure and it seemed like it would be a cracking contest that will go on till day 5.
It was Pat Cummins, the Australian skipper who came back and bowled the spell of the Test match and perhaps that of the series. He removed Rizwan against the run of play with the faintest of edges of his glove and that opened up the game big time. Australia accepted the extra half an hour and they ran through the tail. Cummins picked up a couple more as he got Jamal and Shaheen before Starc came into complete the last rites and got rid of Agha Salman and Mir Hamza.
Mitchell Starc cleans things up with just two deliveries and the Aussies have won the Series 2-0. They win the second Test by 79 runs and the Benaud-Qadir trophy will once again remain in the land of Ricchie Benaud.
67.2 Pat Cummins to Mir Hamza, GONE!!! That is it!!! Starc gets it done in two balls. Short ball at the off stump. Hamza fends away at it and gets a top edge to be taken by Smith at slip. That ends the Pakistan innings and Australia take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Mir Hamza c Steve Smith b Mitchell Starc 0(1b, 0x4, 0x6)
Mir Hamza, LHB, comes to the crease.
Salman is gone and the Aussies can smell victory here! " The Bison" came running in from third man and held on to a stunner. It's been a great knock from Agha Salman and he will have to walk back, having made a well compiled 50.
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Melbourne Cricket Ground
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![[Watch] Mohammad Rizwan dismissed caught behind after the ball grazes his wristband in 2nd AUS vs PAK Test](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/12/368d9-17038337420554-1920.jpg?w=700)
