Lunch Pakistan 50 for 2 (Azhar 24*, Younis 14*, Siddle 1-6, Johnson 1-7) v Australia
Australia struck twice in the first four overs before Younis Khan and Azhar Ali held firm in the face of some disciplined and aggressive Australian bowling on the first morning of the Test series in Dubai.
Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle each grabbed a wicket with the new ball to reduce Pakistan to 7 for 2, but progressed no further in hot conditions. Younis and Azhar concentrated on survival but will need to carry on in a more proactive vein in the afternoon.
Azhar came close to losing his wicket in the minutes before the interval, but Chris Rogers dropped a difficult chance from the bowling of Johnson. That miss may be rued as bowlers grow weary under the UAE sun.
Pakistan's captain Misbah-ul-Haq had announced two debutants, the right-arm pace bowler Imran Khan and the legspinner Yasir Shah. Australia also handed out dual debuts, to the allrounder Mitchell Marsh and the left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe, and both bowled within the first 10 overs.
Marsh's baggy green cap was presented by his father, Geoff Marsh, who was also on hand to do the same for his older son Shaun Marsh when he debuted in Sri Lanka in 2011. Dean Jones presented O'Keefe's cap. The pitch is the same strip used for the earlier ODI and Twenty20 fixtures, and is already dusting up considerably. It will become increasingly difficult to bat on.
Johnson started out as if to continue last summer's reign of terror, pushing Mohammad Hafeez onto the backfoot before pinning his front with a fast and swerving yorker. Smarting from what at the very least was a badly-bruised foot, Hafeez reviewed the lbw verdict of Marais Erasmus but need not have bothered.
At the other end Siddle showed he had regained the pace required of him by Australia's coach Darren Lehmann, consistently topping 140kph while maintaining a tight line. One such delivery seamed back at Ahmed Shehzad, who left leg stump exposed to harm and was duly bowled.
A scoreline of 7 for 2 recalled Sharjah 12 years ago, when Steve Waugh's team razed Pakistan for 59 and 53 in a two-day Test. Younis was the only player on either side to take part in that match, and now he fought to steady the innings in the company of Azhar.
Neither batsman looked entirely comfortable, but after the early swing subsided there was little in the pitch for Johnson, Siddle or Marsh. O'Keefe was tidy without gaining any turn, and when Nathan Lyon joined the attack he was dissuaded from bowling over the wicket into Johnson's footmarks by a single swept boundary from Azhar.
Johnson was used in short bursts by Michael Clarke, and three overs before lunch he harangued Azhar with a few verbals. The unsubtle tactic had the required effect, coaxing an intemperate drive out of the batsman, but Rogers was unable to claim a low chance as he dived forward from cover. After their early setbacks, Pakistan have a toehold in the match.
Source Link http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2014/content/current/story/791355.html
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