Pakistan vs Australia – Aussie bowlers bite back
Published:Australia’s bowlers have fought back against Pakistan in the second morning of the second Test at Headingley, to restrict the ‘home’ side to 218/5 at lunch.
Pakistan are still favourites to win the match, after building a 130-run lead, but have not pressed home their advantage as much as could have been expected, giving Australia hope.
Umar Amin and Umar Akmal took to the crease in the morning session, resuming on one and eight respectively, and were close to losing a wicket in the very first over.
Amin had an heave at a Mitch Johnson delivery, only managing to sky it to cover. Luckily for the Pakistani it was a no-ball, yet it’s doubtful he heard the call, but there was also nearly a subsequent run out.
The breakthrough came soon after, though, with the score on 171, when Johnson had Akmal caught behind by Tim Paine for 21. A full length outside off drew Akmal onto the front foot, with the ball clipping outside edge.
Amin progressed to 25 before falling victim to Ben Hilfenhaus in the 50th over of the innings.
Hilfenhaus sent down a well-directed bouncer, which Amin saw early and tried to duck underneath. But he left his bat poking straight up and the ball struck the side of the bat and looped gently to square leg.
The batsman will be disappointed with the dismissal after looking really good at the crease.
Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal are at the crease now, currently on 17 and 11. Both will want to bat for a long while to give their team a big advantage from which defeat will be highly improbable.
In their mind will be the three Tests Down Under in January, in which Pakistan held decent positions only to succumb to the Australian’s resolve each time.
A lead of over 200 would be near unassailable for the Aussies – can Pakistan do it? See the full Pakistan v Australia match betting market.
