Australia declared just after lunch on day four at 5-233, setting Pakistan 450 runs for victory, and the chase is off to a horror start.
It’s 5-53 and the countdown is on for spinner Nathan Lyon, who is now bowling and he only needs one wicket to mark his 500th in Test cricket.
Lyon appealed for an LBW in his second over but Australia chose not to review and replays showed it was bouncing over the stumps.
Mitchell Starc dismissed opener Abdullah Shafique (2) with the final ball of the first over and Shan Masood (2), Imam-ul-Haq (10) and Babar Azam (14) quickly followed him back to the pavilion.
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Earlier, Usman Khawaja brought up his 50 off 151 balls – the second slowest of his career – but fell just short a century when he was caught on 90.
Australian captain Pat Cummins declared as soon as Khawaja was dismissed and Mitchell Marsh finished on 63 not out.
Pakistan skipper Shan Masood dropped a regulation catch with hometown hero Marsh on 23 after the West Australian attempted to drive Faheem Ashraf down the ground.
Aussie superstar Steve Smith (45) was left fuming after his LBW review saw him dismissed by Khurram Shahzad by the smallest of margins.
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia provided an update on Marnus Labuschagne’s finger injury and it’s good news.
“An x-ray taken last night did not demonstrate any visible fracture. Marnus was able to bat unhindered in the nets this morning,” the statement read.
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DAY FOUR PREVIEW
Australia will be nervously sweating on the fitness of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne with a positive update being provided on the latter.
Labuschagne required medical attention on the field after he copped several stinging blows to his hand and arm and is expected to undergo scans on the little finger of his right hand before play resumes.
Josh Hazlewood told The Daily Telegraph Labuschagne spent an extended period with medical staff after suffering his injury on Saturday.
“Yeah he was just with the doc and physio for the last sort of hour just chatting through it and doing a few tests obviously on the finger,” Hazlewood said.
“I dare say there might be a scan tonight or tomorrow morning and we’ll know more, so pretty sore I think.”
However, Fox Cricket’s Mike Hussey provided positive news on Labuschagne’s condition ahead of play on day four whilst he was also spotted facing fiery quick Lance Morris on Sunday.
“The early news we are hearing is that he’s going to be okay at this stage, I’m not sure exactly the results of scans, but we are hearing he’s okay,” Hussey said
Meanwhile, Mitchell Johnson believes his controversial opinion on David Warner is “still valid” as the Australian opener struck an impressive century before departing for a duck in the second innings against Pakistan.
Johnson’s initial critique of Warner for the West Australian dominated the headlines in the lead-up to the first Test, but the latter delivered an emphatic response with a knock of 164.
Warner celebrated his century by putting his hand to his mouth, a gesture he did not aim at anyone in particular but to those who “write stories about me and trying to use headlines to get headlines.”
In Johnson’s latest column, he highlighted how Warner thrives when under siege from the outside world.
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“On day one of the first Test against Pakistan Warner rode his luck early on — and it could have gone either way — and you take that and he went on to make 164,” Johnson wrote for the West Australian.
“He did what he was paid to do in the first innings before Saturday’s duck in the second innings.
“Warner may have denied he cares about criticism of his form, but it definitely does drive him as shown in his performance in the first innings.
“That sort of atmosphere is something Warner revels in.”
However, Johnson doubled down on his initial verdict on Warner, with the latter’s century not enough to alter his thinking.
Pakistan all out for 271 on Day 3 | 04:23
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“I think my opinion in this column a couple of weeks ago is still valid,” Johnson said.
“He hadn’t scored runs in about three years apart from the double century last summer.
“Another point made was that a soft summer like this, with Australia expected to comfortably beat Pakistan and the West Indies, was the perfect time to look at blooding some new players into an ageing team.
“They could have given some new guys some really good time out in the middle this summer and backed them in. That’s going to be much harder across the next two summers when India and England visit for five-Test series.”