Pakistan had a disastrous start to the third Test in Sydney, losing both their openers for a duck. Mitchell Starc sent Abdullah Shafique back to the pavilion, while Josh Hazlewood got the better of Saim Ayub. Skipper Shan Masood and Babar Azam took control of the situation and helped the team get out of the trouble but neither of the cricketers could capitalize as they got out for 35 and 26 runs respectively.

However, Mohammad Rizwan and Aamer Jamal played some brilliant cricket to rescue Pakistan from a humiliating situation. The Shan Masood-led side was 47/4 when Rizwan started playing counter-attacking cricket. The stumper-batter went on to score 88 runs off 103 deliveries, which put the pressure back on Australia. Salman Agha supported Rizwan well as they stitched a valuable partnership of 94 runs. After Rizwan got out to Pat Cummins, Jamal took control of the situation.

Even though wickets were falling from one end, Jamal played to his merit and hit 82 crucial runs, which helped the visitors post 313 runs on the board. He built an 86-run partnership with Mir Hamza for the 10th wicket, which brought Pakistan back into the contest.

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins once again made headlines with the ball. The Australian skipper picked up his third five-for on the trot as he dismantled Pakistan’s middle and lower middle order. His wicket to dismiss Babar was one of the highlights of the day.

Australia batted only one over on Day 1. David Warner remained not out for six runs, while Usman Khawaja remained not out for zero. The hosts will aim to bat well on Day 2 and take a massive lead as Pakistan pace unit looks a bit pale in the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.