AUS vs PAK | Twitter reacts as Pakistan's fielding folly hands Australia complete control on rollercoaster Day 3

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Pakistan had only themselves to blame for allowing Australia to inch closer to victory in the Boxing Day encounter at the MCG on Thursday. The hosts ended Day 3 with a lead of 241 runs and five wickets still in hand as Mitchell Marsh narrowly missed out on a century after being dropped early on.

‌Following the 45-minute delayed start due to a wet outfield, Pakistan added 70 runs to their overnight score of 194/6 to end up conceding a first-innings lead of 54 runs despite Mohammad Rizwan falling relatively early on the day for 42. Aamer Jamal played a key unbeaten knock of 33 and Shaheen Afridi scored a quick 21 runs on the back of four boundaries while Pat Cummins sealed his 10th Test five-wicket haul in addition to Nathan Lyon's four scalps.
However, Australia fumbled their advantage early on courtesy an inspired new ball spell from Shaheen Afridi as Usman Khawaja departed on the second ball of the innings for a duck while Marnus Labuschagne followed suit on the last ball before Lunch to leave the team reeling at 16/2. The situation became worse on the other side of the break as Mir Hamza broke through the opposition ranks by accounting for David Warner and Travis Head on consecutive deliveries, undoing the latter with an unplayable inswinging peach.
Suddenly having the game by its throat at 16/4, the Men in Green had a chance to firmly capitalize on the collapse when Mitchell Marsh edged a delivery to first slip when batting on 20, only for Abdullah Shafique to let go of a sitter. By the time the batter repeated the mistake nearly three hours later, the fifth-wicket partnership with Steve Smith had grown to 153 runs and Marsh's personal tally read 96, just four short of a fourth Test ton. Smith registered a laborious half-century off 153 deliveries shortly after and succumbed to a short ball barrage from Afridi 23 balls later without scoring another run with the wicket signaling the end of play. Carey remained unbeaten on 16* and would be joined by Pat Cummins on Day 4 with the overnight score reading 187/6.

Farewell!!

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