Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins starred as Australia defeated Pakistan by 79 runs in the second Test at the MCG to win the series. The third test begins in Sydney from January 3.
Pakistan lost the first Test and now the second to continue their losing streak against Australia in Australia to now 16 consecutive Test matches. The defeat has returned them to fifth position in the points table.
Pat Cummins was Man of the Match with 10 wickets in the game. His teammate Mitchell Starc took four wickets in the second innings and one in the first innings. Nathan Lyon also took four wickets in the first innings.
Pakistan were all out for 216 at one point in their second innings before being bowled out for 237 chasing 316 to win. Pacers Shaheen Afridi, Mir Hamza and Aamer Jamal shared all 10 wickets between them to bowl out Australia for 262 in the second innings. From 16/4, Mitchell Marsh (96), Alex Carey (53) and Steve Smith (50) dragged the Australians past 260 before Cummins rocked Pakistan with the ball.
Marsh scored 41 in the first innings and a match-winning 96 in the second for Australia, who had their backs to the wall. Smith and Carey also played their part in creating key partnerships with Marsh.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc promised a young fan that he would give him his boots at the end of lunch if Pakistan won the match on day four. As it turned out, Australia finally defeated Pakistan at the end of the day’s play and it turned out to be a lucky day for the young fan as Starc gifted him his boots and also posed for some photographs.
Watch – Mitchell Starc makes young fans’ day at MCG
At the end of lunch, Mitchell Starc promised this young fan that he would give him his boots if we took nine wickets at the end of the day.
We did it and Starcy kept her promise! ❤️pic.twitter.com/grLhdxcPfm
– Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) December 29, 2023
It was a memorable year for Pat Cummins as captain. He retained the Ashes, won the WTC final and the World Cup final against India, and ended the year with a Test series victory against Pakistan. In between, he bagged a record IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad worth Rs 29.50 crore and he is likely to lead the franchise in IPL 2024 as well.
“I love playing here. Boxing Day: The biggest Test match on the calendar. I love the preparation around Christmas. The last few years, the wickets have been nice. You have a few options here, there is a bit of sewing in recent years. I like a little bounce up and down. You can throw some short balls. The run-up is always very nice here. A little nervous (when Pakistan needed less than 100 to win), they felt good, they were batting quite well, happy with Rizwan’s wicket. Anything over 300 was the goal, although we had enough to play with, a little tight. Steve and Marsh’s partnership really got us back in the game,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation.
The third Test match between Australia and Pakistan will be played in Sydney from January 3 to 7, 2024, and will be David Warner’s last Test match. The Australians are currently third in the WTC points table after winning the series.
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