Published 17:09 IST, November 30th 2019
Shoaib Akhtar slams 'clueless' Pakistan bowlers; alleges pointless strategy
Former Pakistan pacer Shoiab Akhtar slammed the Pakistan bowlers for being clueless and unable to pick up wickets in the pink ball Test at Adelaide on Saturday
Former Pakistan pacer Shoiab Akhtar slammed the Pakistan bowlers for being unable to pick up wickets in the second Test at Adelaide on Saturday. Pakistan's bowlers conceded a mammoth total of 589 runs, with three bowlers conceding 100 plus runs in their spell. Added to Pakistan's misfortunes were their fielding lapses as they faced difficulties spotting the pink ball. Shaheen Afridi was the only Pakistan bowler to provide the much-needed breakthroughs for Pakistan by getting rid of Burns, Smith, and Labuschagne. Pakistan's premier spinner Yasir Shah narrowly missed out on conceding 200 runs as he got hit all around the park by Australia's Warner and Labuschagne. Even after using six bowlers, Pakistan failed to find a way to topple the Australian marathon as Warner and co bludgeoned their way to 589. Shoaib Akhtar slammed the Pakistan bowlers for being clueless about how to pick wickets in Adelaide and chided them for waiting for Australia to throw away their wickets or declare instead of aggressively taking wickets.
Shoaib Akhtar slams Pakistan bowlers
Mitchell Starc Goes Berserk
Australia's pace spearheaded Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc on the Pakistan batting line-up as the visitors were reduced to 96-6 at the end of the day's play. Australia declared their innings after posting a mammoth total of 589 runs, thanks to David Warner's maiden Test triple ton. Mitchell Starc was right on the money and struck gold in the fourth over as he got rid of Imam-ul-Haq. Starc then picked up two wickets off the 31st over to send Ifthikar Ahmed and Rizwan packing. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood grabbed one wicket each as Pakistan ended Day 2 on a very dry note, with just four wickets left.
Pakistan batsmen struggle against Aussie heat
After losing skipper Azhar Ali and opener Imam-ul-Haq early, Shah Masood and Babar Azam tried to bring things back under control for Pakistan. However, once Shah Masood was dismissed, Pakistan lost two wickets in one over, thanks to a lethal spell from Starc. Babar Azam remained not out at 43 runs at the end of the day's play as the future for Pakistan in the Test looked bleak with just four wickets remaining in hand.
Updated 18:05 IST, November 30th 2019