RAWALPINDI: Australia’s batters flourished on a flat wicket Monday to cut Pakistan’s lead to 27 runs as the first Test headed toward a draw.
Australia, playing its first Test in Pakistan since 1998, reached 449-7 at stumps in its first innings on Day 4 on a grassless wicket with Marnus Labuschagne (90) and Steve Smith (78) scoring half centuries. Cameroon Green (48) showed himself to be a Test allrounder by spending more than two hours at the crease, facing 109 balls.
No. 8 batter Mitchell Starc spent almost the last hour and was not out on 12 with skipper Pat Cummins not out on 4 as stumps were drawn three overs before scheduled because of bad light.
Pakistan had declared its first innings at 476-4 late on Day 2 on the back of big centuries from Azhar Ali (185) and Imam-ul-Haq (157).
Opening batter Usman Khawaja narrowly missed out on a century in the country of his birth on Sunday when he was dismissed for 97, but shared a rapid 156-run opening wicket stand with David Warner, who made 68.
On a docile wicket where there was no appreciable turn for the spinners, left-arm spinner Nauman Ali grabbed 4-107 mainly because Australia’s batters went for extravagant shots.
Labuschagne was the second Australian batsman to fell in the 90s when he was caught in the slip in Shaheen Afridi’s (1-80) third over with the new ball after a wet outfield following overnight rain prevented any play in the first session.
Labuschagne hit 12 boundaries in his knock but attempted a drive off a wide delivery from Afridi as Abdullah Shafique grabbed a well-judged low catch in the lone slip.
Travis Head (8) was a rare batsman to fail in a batter-dominated Test match when he edged Nauman to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan while going for a cut shot as Pakistan claimed two wickets in the mid session.
Green showed lot of determination in his 81-run stand with Smith before Nauman induced false strokes from both batsmen by bowling consistently outside the leg stump line in the last session.
Green smashed two of his three boundaries in Nauman’s one over but top-edged a sweep to short fine leg. Smith also went for a similar shot and was caught by Rizwan down the leg side.
Smith, who hasn’t scored a Test century since the 2019 Ashes, batted for nearly five hours, hitting eight fours during his 196-ball knock before he was nicely setup by Nauman to go for an over ambitious shot.
Australia trail Pakistan by 27 runs in first Test
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Australia trail Pakistan by 27 runs in first Test
- Tourists reached 449-7 at stumps in their first innings on Day 4
- Pakistan had declared its first innings at 476-4 late on Day 2
Al-Ahli topple Al-Ittihad in Sea Derby as late Al-Hilal rout sees off Al-Najma
- Al-Ahli defeat rivals Al-Ittihad 3-1 in thrilling derby at Al-Inma Stadium
- Al-Hilal struggle against Al-Najma but three goals in final 10 minutes leads them to 4-0 victory
JEDDAH: The Saudi Pro League title race showed no signs of slowing on Friday as Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal played simultaneously in search of staying within touching distance of league leaders Al-Nassr, who play on Saturday.
While Al-Hilal took on Al-Najma, Al-Ahli’s weekend was about more than just three points. Waiting for them at Al-Inma Stadium were city rivals and defending champions Al-Ittihad.
For Al-Ittihad, this fixture was largely about pride. Their title defence has all but come to an end, with 19 points separating them and the summit heading into the Sea Derby.
Yet as shown in their 1-1 draw weeks prior against Al-Hilal while playing with a man down, Al-Ittihad tend to rise to the occasion in the bigger games regardless of their position on the table.
Al-Ahli did take control of proceedings through their high press, but the Tigers responded with confidence and urgency. A difficult season does not mean allowing your archrivals to take three points with ease, after all.
Matthias Jaissle, however, has converted Al-Ahli into one of the league’s most cohesive sides over the past three years. Some would even argue that despite never holding first place this season, they have indeed been the best team in the league.
That showed in the 23rd minute. Galeno was released into the space behind Muhannad Al-Shanqiti before delivering a low cross to Ivan Toney, who continued his prolific campaign with his 24th goal of the season.
Calls for a VAR review followed, as Houssem Aouar was brought down in the box prior to the goal. Referee Nikola Dabanovic ruled there was no infringement, and Al-Ahli led 1-0.
Al-Ittihad emerged after the interval with renewed vigour. Steven Bergwijn calmly held Zakaria Hawsawi on the edge of the box, tempting him into a foul that Dabanovic judged worthy of a penalty.
Fabinho stepped up and powered the ball past Edouard Mendy to equalise for The Tigers in the 51st minute. For a brief moment, there was hope. If Al-Ittihad could derail Al-Ahli’s title push and go on to win the AFC Champions League Elite later this season, this match could yet prove significant.
Those hopes lasted less than 10 minutes. Al-Ahli’s trademark pass into the channel released Galeno once again, and his low cross rolled across the face of goal to Riyad Mahrez.
The Algerian — who had repeatedly troubled the defence with his movement inside — made no mistake this time, restoring the hosts’ lead in the 59th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close on several occasions, but the match rarely felt out of Al-Ahli’s control for long. Their relentless press ultimately sealed the result when substitute Feras Al-Brikan disposessed Predrag Rajkovic and slotted home into an open net in the 84th minute.
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, endured a far more difficult night against bottom-placed Al-Najma. A glance at the scoreline suggests total dominance for Al-Hilal, but the reality was quite different.
Make no mistake, Al-Hilal created several openings, yet repeatedly lacked the decisive final touch. Salem Al-Dawsari’s decision to square the ball to Karim Benzema while through on goal summed up their struggles in front of the net.
It wasn’t until Nasser Al-Haleel received a red card in the 39th minute for pulling down Al-Dawsari as the last defender that Al-Hilal began to shift gears.
Four minutes later, Al-Dawsari made amends for his earlier mistake by setting up Benzema for first goal at Kingdom Arena.
Even with the numerical advantage, Al-Hilal produced one of their least convincing performances of the season. Fortunately for them, Al-Najma offered little attacking threat, registering just one shot across the 90 minutes.
They eventually collapsed in the final 10 minutes, as Benzema, Malcom and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all scored within a six-minute spell, lifting Al-Hilal’s goal difference to +43 — a vital factor in a tital race where Al-Nassr sit on +46.
The victories move Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal to 62 and 61 points respectively, with Al-Nassr sandwiched between them on 61 ahead of their clash against NEOM.
Elsewhere, Al-Taawoun defeated Al-Fateh 3-2 in a match that saw the visitors mount a late rally but ultimately fall short of completing the comeback. Meanwhile, Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis both found the net as Al-Khaleej secured a 2-1 victory over Al-Hazem.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Saturday, with four clashes kicking off at 10:00pm. Al-Ettifaq host Al-Shabab, Al-Kholood take on Al-Qadsiah, Al-Okhdood welcome Al-Fayha, and Al-Nassr aim to maintain their spot at the top against NEOM.
