The first two Tests between Pakistan and Australia haven’t been able to produce results. The first game in Rawalpindi ended in a dull draw, with more than 1200 runs scored. In the second game, it looked like the same story will repeat when the Pat Cummins-led amassed 556/9 declared, after batting for a little more than two days in Karachi.
However, the twist in the tale was when the Babar Azam-led side was restricted 148 all-out. Notably, after leading by 408 runs, the visitors decided to bat, a decision that astonished the cricket experts. Meanwhile, after scoring 97/2, the visitors declared the innings and set a target of 506 for the number six Test side. However, Pakistan showed grit and determination to bat out 171.4 overs and amass 443/7 to salvage a memorable draw.
The hundreds from skipper Babar Azam (196*), Mohammad Rizwan (104*), and a half-century from Abdullah Shafique contributed to such a memorable draw for Pakistan. Meanwhile, former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed was unhappy with the pitches produced for the first two games and urged the PCB to take a lead out of BCCI’s book and prepare pitches that aids the spinners. He added that Pakistan take help from the Indian curators.
“Why go anywhere else? I would say find out from the curators in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai etc how they prepare the turners on which Indian spinners dominate. I am surprised until now Pakistan has not been able to produce pure turning tracks, which will help our spinners,” Aaqib said on a YouTube channel.
On the other hand, a PCB official has said that the board will take help from Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch curator, Toby Lumsden to prepare the pitch in Lahore. “He wants to also change and improve the process of preparing pitches and Lumsden might also be given a longer assignment to help train the local curators,” the source said.
