Spinners shine on eventful first day

A devastating Nathan Lyon blitz along with a lively bowling and fielding display from Marnus Labuschagne helped Australia make a bright start, despite a late wobble, to the second Test against Pakistan on an eventful first day.

Debutant Fakhar Zaman and captain Sarfraz Ahmed scored 94 apiece to dig Pakistan out of an almighty hole after Lyon obliterated their middle order, taking four for none in six balls in the opening session.

Having earlier taken a screamer at short leg and then dropping Fakhar on 30, Labuschagne settled in for an unlikely extended stint with the ball, taking 3-45 off 12 overs including the prized scalps of both Sarfraz and Fakhar when they'd had centuries within striking distance.

On a ground where the average first-innings total is 402, Australia will likely be satisfied with keeping Pakistan to 282 on a green-tinged pitch that has shown more early signs of life than the docile track rolled out for last week’s series-opener. 

But the two blows they suffered at the hands off Mohammad Abbas (2-9) before stumps made the day a little less palatable.

Opener Usman Khawaja, fresh off his marathon ton to save the first Test in Dubai, was caught down the leg-side before nightwatchman Peter Siddle was trapped lbw on the final ball of the day. Australia were 2-20 at stumps with Aaron Finch (13 not out) unbeaten.

Lyon's spell saw him move ahead of Mitchell Johnson (314 wickets) on the all-time Australian Test wicket-taking charts, with the off-spinner now behind only Dennis Lillee (355), Glenn McGrath (563) and Shane Warne (708). 

Labuschagne's extraordinary grab off Mitchell Starc to remove Mohammad Hafeez arguably topped his famous catch while fielding as a substitute at the Gabba back in 2014, keeping superb composure to hang on to a full-blooded clip off the pads that he somehow kept from touching the turf. 

A more-than-useful leg-spinner (the 'part-timer' tag no longer fits after taking five wickets in his first two Tests), he wasn't introduced until the 55th over of the day, but delivered two vital breakthroughs in a typically energetic cameo. 

Australian hearts sunk this morning when Tim Paine called incorrectly for a second time on tour and Sarfraz unhesitatingly elected to bat at the space-age desert stadium named after Sheikh Zayed, the former ruler of the UAE's capital.

Image Id: 83769080E5894B2C862D1B843427B398 Image Caption: Pakistan win the toss in Abu Dhabi // Cricket Network

Having saved all the drama for the last handful of sessions of the drawn first Test in Dubai, the action-packed opening to the second and final Test could hardly have been a more different spectacle.

It came as no surprise that Australia's bundle of energy Labuschagne was in the thick of it all.

After Mitchell Starc (2-37) sent an early message by hitting Mohammad Hafeez in the thumb and shoulder with a climbing short ball, the second-gamer clung onto an incredible swivelling snare at short leg.

Hafeez clipped one firmly off the face of his bat and directly into Labuschange at bat-pad, with the Queenslander managing to tumble to the ground so gracefully that he was able to ensure the ball never touched the ground after it had struck him in the groin, using both legs to keep it up before plucking it out from where it had lodged behind his left knee.

His astonishment at his grab quickly turned to dismay though, when he put down a sitter at mid-wicket off Fakhar in Jon Holland's (0-45) first over.

It was soon forgotten in the chaotic scenes of Lyon's spell.

Azhar Ali had never looked comfortable in his 48-ball stay and his departure begun the early procession; Sohail then departed first ball when he bunted one straight to silly point, before Asad Shafiq (a ball after denying Lyon a hat-trick) and Babar Azam both exited the following over.

Babar's dismissal, in which he airily aimed an advancing drive against the turn back into towards him and was clean-bowled, left a sour taste in coach Mickey Arthur's mouth, who was caught on television cameras with his head in his hands, no doubt trying to comprehend the calamity. 

Image Id: 3C4792B9854A4E9EA5C3B29B029AA059 Image Caption: Mickey Arthur reacts in the midst of Pakistan's collapse // Fox Cricket

With the visitors right on top and Pakistan reeling at 5-77, it was a terrific display of counter-attacking batting from Fakhar and Sarfraz to pull Pakistan back in the contest.

Fakhar hit three boundaries before lunch off Lyon and Holland before reaching his fifty in the first over after the break as he and Sarfraz took advantage of more friendly batting conditions. The skipper expertly used the late cut off both spinners and quicks to rollick along to a 53-ball half-century as they extended their sixth-wicket partnership past 100.

Pakistan have made no secret they've targeted Holland, the least experienced member of Australia's attack, and Fakhar looked like he might become the first Pakistani to reach a ton on debut in close to a decade when he ignored the three men stationed on the boundary for the left-arm spinner and hit him for six back over his head.

Again, it was Labuschagne who rudely imposed himself on the game.

Thrown the ball before tea, the leg-spinner convinced Paine to review an lbw off Fakhar that the batsman had clearly edged. Three balls later, he hit the opener's front pad once more and this time he had his man on the final ball before the break.

Image Id: 1FEF7843E6094CE3A4786913BFCF28B9 Image Caption: Marnus Labuschagne celebrates a wicket // Getty

A superb catch from Paine off a significant edge from Bilal Asif handed Labuschagne a second scalp, with his brisk leg-breaks posing Pakistan no end of problems after the interval.

Sarfraz copped a brute of a delivery from Starc flush on the forearm as he moved into the 90s but while he initially brushed that off, he was lured into a wild hoick off Labuschagne and a juggling Peter Siddle at mid-off hung on to the skied miscue.

Mitch Marsh (1-21 off seven overs) claimed a deserved wicket when he bowled Yasir Shah (28) after the tailender had struck some meaty blows, while Starc needed just five balls with the second new ball to clean rip Mohammad Abbas.

Khawaja was unlucky to have feathered one down the leg-side during a tricky seven-over spell before the close of play, with the hero of Dubai’s departure, as well that of the nightwatchman Siddle, leaving the series-decider intriguingly poised at stumps.

Australia XI: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Tim Paine (capt), Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland.

Pakistan XI: Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Harris Sohail, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas.

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez

Oct 7-11: First Test, drawn

Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi