Cricket | Zaman makes 94 on debut, Pakistan rallies to 204-6 at tea

Australia’s players appeal the dismissal of Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman during their test match in Abu Dhabi

Fakhar Zaman scored 94 on debut and helped Pakistan recover to 204-6 against Australia after Nathan Lyon took four wickets in six deliveries on the first day of the second test yesterday.

Pakistan, which crashed to 57-5 in the first session, lost Zaman in the last over before tea as the left-hander played half forward to legspinner Marnus Labuschagne and was out leg before wicket.

Zaman and captain Sarfraz Ahmed outsmarted Australia in the second session and revived Pakistan with a 147-run, sixth- wicket stand.

Zaman, who was dropped on 30 by Labuschagne off Jon Holland, scored nearly three quarters of his runs on the offside, hitting eight fours and a six in his 198-ball knock.

Ahmed was, by far, more aggressive, and kept the scoreboard moving with constant rotation of the strike. He was unbeaten on 78 off 95 balls that featured seven boundaries as Pakistan scored 127 runs in the second session.

Labuschagne dismissed Zaman in only his second over, not given a bowl until just before tea. Lyon and Holland were given most of the spin duty, but after Pakistan was 57-5, the home side didn’t lose another wicket for 37 overs.

Earlier, in a stunning 11-minute period, Lyon took a return catch to remove Azhar Ali on 15 and then dismissed Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, and Babar Azam all out without scoring.

Pakistan was in a reasonable position at 57-1 after winning the toss, but the Australia spinners were threatening.

Then the threat became reality. Lyon took the wickets of Ali and Sohail on consecutive balls to end his fourth over, the 20th of the innings.

Asad Shafiq blocked the hat-trick ball, the first ball of the 22nd over, but got a faint inside edge to Lyon’s subsequent delivery and was caught at bat-pad by Labuschagne after a successful decision review by the Australians.

Lyon struck again two balls later and, at that stage, he had figures of 4.4-4-4-4 and Pakistan was 57-5.

In the process, Lyon surpassed former paceman Mitchell Johnson to move to fourth on Australia’s list of all-time leading wicket-takers with 314. At tea, he had 4-58.

Pakistan’s precarious position could have been worse. Zaman survived that dropped catch in the 19th over, and later a close run out.

Labuschangne earlier brought off a sensational catch close to the wicket to dismiss opener Mohammad Hafeez for 4 in Mitchell Starc’s second over, before Zaman and Ali shared a half-century stand for the second wicket.

Pakistan made two changes to the lineup that started in Dubai, giving Zaman and left-arm seamer Mir Hamza test debuts as replacements for Imam-ul-Haq and Wahab Riaz.

Australia salvaged an unexpected draw in the first test by batting for almost 140 overs and finishing at 362-8 in the fourth innings after being set a victory target of 462. AP