Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne was seen sledging Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi during Day 4 of the AUS vs PAK 2nd Test. The Pakistani team needed 317 runs to win against a lethal Australian attack and ultimately lost the match by 79 runs.
The Pakistan team was 7 down for 236 runs and Agha Salman was the last hope playing in the Pakistan crease along with Shaheen Shah Afridi. During the fourth ball of Pakistan’s 66th innings, Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne, who was fielding at short leg, stood up and spoke to Shaheen. He mentioned the IPL and PSL while sledging with Pakistan’s leading pacer.
Watch: Marnus Labuschagne plays mind games with Shaheen Afridi
Marnus Labuschagne said: “80 runs in 6 overs. It’s for Shaheen, I’ve seen him playing IPL… uhmm (shakes head) PSL.”
“80 runs in 6 overs. It’s for Shaheen. I’ve seen him play IPL… uhmm (shakes head) PSL.” – The Sleigh Maze by Shaheen Afridi. 🤣 #INDvSA #PAKvsAUS pic.twitter.com/7DWIObQPkb
– Abhi (@cric_Abhi18) December 29, 2023
It looked like the sledging might have worked for Australia as in the next over Shaheen Shah Afridi fell to Australian captain Pat Cummins and was caught for a duck by Marnus Labuschagne.
Pat Cummins starred in the ball for Australia as he took his second five-wicket haul in the second Test match. Cummins finished the second innings with figures of 5/49 in 18 overs, while he had also scored a fifty in the first innings and had given 48 runs in 20 overs to take a five-wicket haul.
It was another poor outing with the bat for the Pakistani team as once again no batsman could rise to the occasion and secure a victory for Pakistan. Imam ul-Haq and Babar Azam once again failed to score runs and emerged with 12 and 41 runs in the second innings. Babar came out for 1 run in the first innings.
With the win, Australia also sealed the Test series and now holds an unassailable 2-0 lead with one Test left. Pakistan’s dream of winning a Test series in Australia is once again a dream and they will now want to end the series on a winning note.
The Pakistani team could not limit Australia to a low score despite removing their top four batsmen early. Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and Alex Carey got the Australian team out of trouble and helped them set a tough target for Pakistan in the second innings.
The third Test match of the series will be played from January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground and the Australian team will want to whitewash Pakistan. The hosts have been in top form in all formats over the last few months and have won matches in all corners of the world.
From being World Test Champion to World ODI Champion, the Australian team has no ICC trophy left to achieve.
Pakistan, on the other hand, needs to address many issues if they want to end their tour with a victory.