Australian tour takeaways

The momentous Benaud-Qadir test series has finally come to an end with Australia securing a 1-0 series win, outplaying Pakistan in the third and final test. The Australian pacers made full use of the reversing ball with the skipper Pat Cummins taking five wickets in the first innings while world-class spinner Nathan Lyon outclassed the Pakistani batsmen with his five wickets after getting the ball to turn in the second innings.

For Pakistan, Naseem Shah was particularly impressive as he got the ball to reverse both ways and secured four important wickets in the first innings. However, easy wickets that fell in quick succession in both innings led to the downfall of the Pakistan team who lost the match by 115 runs. The skeptical decision taken by the Australian captain to declare early proved to be successful in the end. Pakistani-born Usman Khawaja was named player of the series with a series aggregate of 496 runs — second-highest for a visiting opener in Pakistan. More than the match itself, this historic series is a win both for Australia that has had their first series win away from home in almost six years, and for Pakistan cricket, with the fans witnessing the revival of their beloved sport in the country. Moreover, it come with important lessons. The first two drawn test matches had little to offer in terms of cricketing action as analysts and spectators were quick to criticise the “batting friendly” pitches. The only thing in it for the fast bowlers was a sore back as batters played them with ease.

The series has put to test Pakistan’s cricketing infrastructure and gives the PCB a better idea of where Pakistan cricket stands. As Pakistan sees the revival of cricket in their backyard, the PCB must learn from the drawbacks and move on with intent to develop local infrastructure according to international standards. That being said, nothing can be taken away from the Australian team that showed their class in unfamiliar conditions. We wish both teams the best for the upcoming white ball series.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2022.

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