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29 March 2024

Pakistan vs Australia 1st Test Day 1: Younis leads Pak fightback with 25th ton

Published
By Agencies

Younis Khan led Pakistan's fightback with a dogged century after the hosts made a terrible start to the first test against Australia in Dubai on Wednesday.

After opting to bat first, Pakistan reached 219 for four wickets at stumps on the first day with captain Misbah-ul-haq (34) and Asad Shafiq (nine) at the crease.

The 36-year-old Younis fell on 106, leg before to Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson's second delivery with the second new ball.

Younis walked in at number four with Pakistan having lost both their openers before the total had reached double figures.

The stylish right-hander propped his side up with a 108-run stand for the third wicket with Azhar Ali (53) and then added 83 for the next with Misbah.

He hit 10 fours during his 223-ball knock and got to his 25th test hundred with a huge six off spinner Nathan Lyon over mid-wicket.

Azhar gave his senior batsman able support before he drove Johnson in the air and was caught by Alex Doolan at cover for Australia's only success in the second session.

Australia captain Michael Clarke used Johnson (three for 22) in short spells and the left-armer bowled with pace and venom to trouble the batsmen on the slow pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Johnson also struck in the first over of the match -- hitting the toe of Mohammad Hafeez with a fast, inswinging yorker to dismiss the right-handed batsman for a duck.

Hafeez, returning from a hand injury that ruled him out of the one-day international series against the same opponents, reviewed the umpire's decision but was unsuccessful.

Peter Siddle, back in the Australian team after being dropped in South Africa earlier this year, then struck with the first delivery of his second over, and the fourth of the morning, when he bowled out Ahmed Shehzad for three.

Shehzad walked too far across his stumps as the ball crashed into his leg stump, reducing Pakistan to seven for two before Azhar and Younis started the recovery .

Pakistan, without banned off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, handed test debuts to fast bowler Imran Khan and leg-spinner Yasir Shah in a new-look bowling attack.

Australia also handed first caps to fast-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and left-arm bowler Steve O'Keefe, who paired up with Nathan Lyon in a two-pronged spin attack.

Australia will reclaim the world number one test ranking from South Africa with a 2-0 win over Pakistan, who host matches in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns back home.

PREVIEW

Pakistan A's warm-up win over Australia has given the senior team a path it hopes will lead to success in the first cricket Test starting in Dubai on Wednesday.

Even without spinner Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan's only world top-10 Test bowler, the hosts are expected to rely on spin to gauge how vulnerable the Australians are after they lost the four-day warm-up match by 153 runs in Sharjah last week.

Left-armer Raza Hasan, who took four wickets from 40 overs in the match, could be in line for a debut. He's in contention for the spin spots with the uncapped Yasir Shah and two-Test player Zulfiqur Babar.

“It does affect you when you don't have senior players, but the way the (Pakistan) A team played they showed it's all about determination,” captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Tuesday.

With Ajmal suspended for an illegal bowling action, Pakistan lost the one-day international series 3-0. But Misbah said his untested spinners carry enough experience of bowling long spells in domestic cricket.

“Whoever comes on the international scene he starts inexperienced ... this is how life is,” Misbah said. “These players are good enough to make their names on the international scene, and I am pretty hopeful that they have the capabilities to prove themselves at this level.”

In the ODI series, Pakistan was let down by the batsmen, including Misbah, rather than the bowlers. Misbah even voluntarily sat out from the last ODI to tune his technique.

In the 12 days since the second ODI, he has been in the nets, hoping to put on a better show in the two Tests.

“It was a nice break, and I did long practice (sessions),” he said. “The ball is coming onto the bat, and I will try to improve my performance,” he added.

Pakistan's struggling middle order will be beefed up by the return of Test specialists Younis Khan and Azhar Ali, with Asad Shafiq also running into form with a century in the four-day game.

NUMBER ONE

Australia are fretting over the composition of their final XI as Michael Clarke and his men embark on their journey to reclaim the world number one ranking.

Australia will have to win both Tests in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to go one point clear of South Africa, who displaced them at the top in July, but there is still little clarity about the side who would walk out for the first match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

There is some uncertainty about the opening partnership, with David Warner recovering from a groin injury and Chris Rogers failing twice in the tour match.
 
Team management, wary of the pitch, is also undecided over the make-up of the bowling attack.

Adding to woes, captain Clarke is low on match practice as he returns from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the one day internationals in the leadup.

"Anything is possible, it really is," national selection panel chairman Rod Marsh said on Cricket Australia's website (www.cricket.com.au).

"There's more than one spot to discuss I can promise you that, for a variety of reasons," Marsh said.

"We haven't even come close to saying this is what the XI will be."

Alex Doolan's century in the practice match against Pakistan A at Sharjah should secure his number three position but Rogers' scores of zero and three has the 37-year-old left-hander's place under scrutiny.

Phillip Hughes could be the beneficiary, having cracked a second-innings half-century against the spinning and reversing ball in the match Pakistan A won by 153 runs.

On the positive side for Australia, paceman Peter Siddle has added muscle as well as pace to return stronger after being dropped in South Africa earlier this year.

With Ryan Harris still recovering from knee surgery, Siddle is set to join England tormentor Mitchell Johnson at the front line of the pace attack.

More intriguing is the possibility that selectors might opt for two specialist spinners - a rarity for Australia - which would hand left-armer Steven O'Keefe a long-awaited Test debut alongside Nathan Lyon.

In Shane Watson's absence, Australia are likely to blood the highly-fancied Mitchell Marsh, with coach Darren Lehmann determined to have an all-rounder to provide support for the bowlers in the heat of Dubai.