PAK vs AUS: Watch - Babar Azam Takes A Brilliant One-Handed Catch At Slip To Dismiss Usman Khawaja

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Monday took an excellent one-handed catch to dismiss Australian opener Usman Khawaja on the first day of the third Test at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.

Khawaja continued his brilliant form in the ongoing Test series as he scored another brisk half-century to lead Australia’s innings on a wicket where scoring looked like a challenging task for the batters. Australia lost the wickets of David Warner (7) and Marnus Labushcagne (0) in the first three overs.

PAK vs AUS: Usman Khawaja scored 91 on Day 1

Khawaja joined forces with Steve Smith to arrest the slide and the duo ensured that the hosts didn’t cause any damage further in the first session. Smith and Khawaja often kept rotating the strikes as fetching boundaries became arduous, the southpaw finally broke the silence and drove Shaheen Afridi wide of cover for a four. Khawaja played a cracking cut shot to find another boundary off Sajid Khan’s bowling to reach his 16th Test fifty.

Watch – Babar Azam takes a one-handed catch to dismiss Usman Khawaja

The Queensland skipper seemed unstoppable as he looked to tire the Pakistan bowlers with his brilliant strokes, he smashed nine boundaries and slog-swept Nauman Ali for a six over midwicket. However, Khawaja’s spectacular knock was halted by Sajid in the very first ball of the 75th over.

The off-spinner pitched it low as the batter went to flick the ball through midwicket but found a leading edge and Babar, in the slip cordon, pouched a one-handed stunner to complete the dismissal.

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Australia ended 232/5 at the stumps on Day 1 with Cameron Green (20*) and Alex Carey (8*) remaining unbeaten for the visitors. The three-match Test series is currently locked at 0-0 and only the remaining four days will decide the results of this series, which has been termed boring as matches are being played on dead pitches.

Babar Azam scored 196 in the fourth innings to salvage a draw for his side against a formidable bowling attack of Australia. Babar’s valiant knock was the highest score by a captain in the fourth innings of a Test match.

Also Read: PAK vs AUS: Watch – Steve Smith Furious At The Buggy Camera During Lahore Test