AUS vs PAK Scorecard, 3rd Test, Day 1 Highlights: Aamer Jamal's Resilience, Mohammad Rizwan's Counter Attack Help Pakistan Fight

Pakistan, on Wednesday (January 3), recovered from a disastrous start to post a 313 in the first innings of the ongoing third AUS vs PAK Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood opted to bat first after winning the toss and it did not take him long to regret the decision. Both the openers – Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub – departed even without opening their account. While Mitchell Starc dismissed Shafique, Josh Hazlewood sent back debutant Ayub to leave the visitors reeling at 4 for 2.

Captain Pat Cummins then took charge and dismissed Babar Azam (26) and Saud Shakeel (5) to reduce Pakistan to 47 for 4. Masood and Mohammad Rizwan steadied the ship with a 49-run stand before the former was dismissed for 35 by Mitchell Marsh.

AUS vs PAK: Pakistan fight back

At 96 for 5, Pakistan were staring down the barrel and even the 200-run mark was looking like a distant dream. However, Rizwan and Agha Salman steadied the ship for the tourists and shared a 94-run stand to lay the foundation for a respectable total for their team.

Rizwan batted positively and hit 10 fours and 2 sixes in his 88-run knock. Pat Cummins broke the stand by dismissing Rizwan. Salman (53) also went on to complete his fifty but failed to convert it into a big score and was dismissed by Starc. Just like Rizwan, Salman also played positively and scored his 53 runs off just 67 balls with the help of 8 fours.

Respect!

A guard of honour for the retiring David Warner #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/e1vCaN07Jb

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2024

1 run after Salman’s departure, Cummins struck again to remove Hasan Ali to complete his third five-wicket haul in a row and reduce Pakistan to 227 for 9. It was followed by another fightback from Pakistan as their last-wicket pair of Aamer Jamal and Mir Hamza frustrated the hosts with a valiant partnership.

The duo shared an 86-run stand for the final wicket to take Pakistan to a 300-plus total for the first time in the series. Jamal scored the bulk of the run during the partnership while Hamza looked more than content to play the role of the second fiddle.

The partnership was ended by Nathan Lyon when Jamal was caught at long-on while trying to clear the boundary. Jamal scored 82 off 97 balls with the help of 9 fours and 4 sixes while Hamza remained unbeaten on 7 off 43 balls. In reply, Australia ended the day on 6 for no loss.

A pair of impressive 80s ensured Pakistan crossed the 300 mark on day one #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/s3LveYTrTO

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2024

Pakistan eye first Test win on Australian soil since 1995:

Pakistan have momentum on its side after the valiant fightback and will be looking to make the most of it. While they have already conceded the series, they will be desperate to win the ongoing game and end their long wait for a Test win in Australia. Pakistan have not won a Test in Australia since 1995.

Brief scores: Australia 6/0 (David Warner 6*) trail Pakistan 313/10 (Mohammad Rizwan 88, Aamer Jamal 82; Pat Cummins 5-61) by 307 runs.