Melbourne: Nathan Lyon grabbed five wickets to spin Australia to an emphatic innings and 48-run victory in the second Test against Pakistan on Monday as the hosts swept the series 2-0.
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Asked to follow on, Pakistan’s batsmen battled hard at Adelaide Oval to make Australia bat again but were bowled out for 239 shortly after the dinner break in the day-night Test.
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Four years after sweeping Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan 3-0, Australia maintained their perfect record against the south Asians on home soil and continued their recent good form in Tests since retaining the Ashes in England.
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“Really happy,” said Australia skipper Tim Paine, whose team thrashed Azhar Ali’s side by an innings and five runs in the Brisbane opener.
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“Probably barring a few slip-ups yesterday in the field I think we’ve played some fantastic cricket over the last two Test matches.
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“We came back from England, we felt we were getting better all the time and it was really pleasing to get the results to start the summer.”
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Australia, who next face New Zealand in a three-Test home series, earned a maximum 120 points in the ICC World Test Championship to shore up second place behind India.
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Pakistan were punished for bringing a rookie attack of teenage pace bowlers to Australia and depart the country with queries over the captaincy of new skipper Azhar and the guidance of selector-coach Misbah after being comprehensively outplayed.
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“Obviously, it’s always hard coming to Australia and beating the Australians here but I think we’ve been beaten by a better side,” Azhar said.
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“It didn’t go really well this time around but I’m very positive for the future. The bowlers and myself will learn a lot from here and will try to make things better.” Denied a wicket in Pakistan’s first-innings 302 despite bowling some good spells, Lyon enjoyed belated rewards on day four after the tourists resumed on 39 for three, and finished with innings-best figures of 5-69.
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DOCILE PITCH
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He smashed through Pakistan’s defences on a docile pitch, removing opener Shaan Masood and middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq before tea after both scored defiant half-centuries.
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Lyon returned to break another stubborn 47-run partnership between number six Iftikhar Ahmed and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, with Marnus Labuschagne finally catching a nick at short leg after grassing three earlier chances in the test.
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With Iftikhar, Pakistan’s last specialist batsman, gone it was only a matter of time for the touring side.
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Yasir Shah was unable to repeat his first-innings heroics when he scored an unlikely ton. He fell for 13 when trapped lbw by Lyon and threw away a referral trying to overturn the decision.
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Australia’s victory march paused for dinner but paceman Josh Hazlewood bowled Rizwan for 45 after the second new ball became available.
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A comical mix-up between tail-enders saw Pat Cummins run out Mohammad Abbas for the final wicket to wrap up the match.
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While Lyon enjoyed the spoils on day four, the match belonged to opener David Warner, who scored an unbeaten 335 to drive Australia to a mammoth first-innings total of 589 for three.
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Having made 154 in the first test in Brisbane, he was awarded both man of the match and of the series.
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“I am very happy we didn’t have to bat again,” Warner quipped. “Obviously, winning by an innings two games in a row doesn’t really happen too often. Just an exceptional effort by the boys.” Australia’s left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc finished with seven wickets to match his seven at Brisbane in an electric return to form after playing only a cameo in the Ashes.
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He leaves Adelaide with an injury doubt, however, after rolling his ankle.
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Scoreboard
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Australia 1st innings 589-3 dec
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Pakistan 1st innings 302
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Pakistan 2nd innings (overnight 39-3)
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S. Masood c Starc b Lyon 68
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I. Ul-Haq lbw Hazlewood 0
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A. Ali c Smith b Starc 9
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B. Azam c Paine b Hazlewood 8
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A. Shafiq c Warner b Lyon 57
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I. Ahmed c Labuschagne b Lyon 27
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M. Rizwan b Hazlewood 45
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Y. Shah lbw Lyon 13
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S. Afridi c Hazlewood b Lyon 1
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M. Abbas run out (Cummins) 1
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M. Musa not out 4
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Extras: (lb6) 6
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Total: (all out, 82 overs) 239
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Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Ul-Haq), 2-11 (Azhar), 3-20 (Azam), 4-123 (Masood), 5-154 (Shafiq), 6-201 (Ahmed), 7-221 (Yasir), 8-229 (Afridi), 9-235 (Rizwan), 10-239 (Abbas)
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Bowling: Starc 16-3-47-1, Hazlewood 23-4-63-3, Cummins 15-4-45-0, Lyon 25-7-69-5, Labuschagne 3-0-9-0.
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