LAHORE, March 21: Pakistan recovered from dropped catches to restrict Australia to 232/5 and deny Usman Khawaja a second consecutive century on Day 1 of the third and final Test on Monday.
Fast bowler Naseem Shah, the only Pakistan change from the second drawn Test at Karachi, picked up 2/36 to lead a fightback in the last session after Australia won the toss and opted to bat on another slow and low-bouncy wicket.
Cameron Green was unbeaten on 20 and Alex Carey was not out on 8 when bad light stopped play two overs before the scheduled close.
The Pakistan-born Khawaja, who scored 160 and 44 not out at Karachi and 97 runs in the opening Test draw, fell for 91 when Babar Azam plucked a brilliant one-handed shin-high catch in the slip.
Khawaja batted for nearly five and half hours for his resilient 219-ball knock before he tried to flick off-spinner Sajid Khan (1/65) to mid-wicket. But the ball spun away sharply and took the thick outside edge of the bat.
Naseem was finally rewarded for his disciplined bowling when he had Steve Smith (59) trapped leg before wicket and also found the outside edge of Travis Head (26).
Head’s below-par series continued and despite getting a reprieve on 7 when Sajid couldn’t grab a chest-high catch of his own bowling, he couldn’t last long enough.
Khawaja and Smith had revived Australia from the early jolt of Shaheen Shah Afridi (2/39) with a 138-run stand in almost four hours before Pakistan hit back with three late wickets.
Afridi had picked up two wickets in his second over to cut Australia to 8/2 before Khawaja and Smith thwarted Pakistan. (AP)
