OPINION
Follow Us“C'mon, Do Something.”
If you’re a keen follower of the meme culture, the words above will be familiar to you.
In case you’re someone that’s out of loop, this description taken from knowyourmeme.com should help: “C'mon, Do Something is a photoshop meme featuring an exploitable illustration from the webcomic White Ninja, in which the titular character pokes a variety of things with a long stick.”
There was a point in today’s play, 25 overs in, when you, as a viewer, desperately wanted to transform into the titular character, poke the two Pakistan batters with a stick and say, ‘C'mon, Do Something.’
Having begun the day on 245/1, Pakistan, understandably, despite having two set batters, treaded with caution to ensure that they did not give Australia a sniff. The Aussie seamers were disciplined and on the money in the first hour, but Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali succeeded in getting through the testing period unscathed, scoring just 30 runs off the first 16 overs in the day.
After a point, though, the line between ‘cautious’ and ‘baffling’ started to blur. This peaked just around lunch.
On the flattest of flat wickets at home with 9 wickets in hand against against a tired bowling attack that was posing absolutely no threat whatsoever, Imam and Azhar scored just 57 runs off 25 overs, testing even the patience of their own fans. Attritional cricket has its own charm but the game was starting to become a hard watch.
Still, you hoped that this was the calm before the eventual storm. After all, over the years, we’ve been witness to many a Test where the batting side goes ballistic once it gets into a secure position.
Long story short, it wasn’t.
While Pakistan did accelerate relative to the pace they were batting at in the first session, they did not bat Australia out of the game or fully deflate the visitors despite batting 162 overs. Post lunch they amassed 174 runs in 47 overs at a rate of 3.70, but 231 runs was all they added in the day despite resuming Day 2 with 9 wickets in hand.
The messy, hasty declaration and the even messier bad light stoppage was, in a way, a fitting end to a day that was underwhelming in every sense of the word.
Flawless Azhar Ali stands tall
On Day 2, the pace at which the game progressed was a slight buzzkill, but Rawalpindi was treated to a masterclass of the highest order by Azhar Ali, who made batting look ridiculously easy.
Azhar, in the first session, was extremely slow to get off the blocks. Resuming overnight on 64*, the right-hander added just 31 more runs to his tally in the 78 balls he faced in the morning session, leaving many puzzled with his approach.
But as soon as he brought up his ton in the fifth over after lunch, the 37-year-old flipped a switch and unleashed a free-flowing version of himself that looked enchanting and unconquerable both at once.
After taking 257 balls to bring up his first 100 runs, the right-hander notched up the next fifty off just 60 balls and the following 35 off 44 balls. Not quite Pant-esque, but Azhar glided along effortlessly in artistic fashion.
What was truly mind-boggling was the consummate ease with which he batted. Across the 361 balls he faced in the innings, the 37-year-old batted with a staggering control of 95.00%. He deserved nothing less than a double, but some forced declaration slogging resulted in him falling 15 short.
Time will tell if this innings proves to be the difference between the two sides, but no matter what happens in this contest, what cannot be overlooked is that Azhar Ali is establishing quite the legacy. He now has 19 tons to his name - one more and he’ll join Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad as one of five Pakistan batters to score 20 or more Test tons.
The way he batted on Day 2, it would be a major shock if he does not end up joining the elusive list by the end of the series.
Did the Aussie bowlers fare ‘okay’? Only time will tell
When you spend 162 overs on the field away in the sub-continent, 9/10 times you’ll find yourself mentally battered and bruised by the time you walk to bat, due having already been batted out of the game by your opponent. In that way, the Aussie bowlers can pat themselves on the back.
Pakistan batted for nearly two full days but the visitors managed to keep the scoring rate under 3, never imploding, losing their heads or dropping their shoulders. In fact, they showed commendable energy even late on the second day, the charge being led by none other than Marnus Labuschagne, who looked pumped as ever after running out Babar Azam in the 148th over.
But whether they fared ‘okay’ on a flat pitch, and whether this wicket is even a road in the first place, can only be known once Pakistan bowl on Day 3. As the famous saying goes, never judge a pitch before both sides have batted on it.
Cummins and Hazlewood were accurate and didn’t give an inch to the batters, while Lyon, despite having a fairly ordinary day, was unlucky. He should have had at least three wickets to his name but instead ended up walking with unremarkable figures of 1/161 as Alex Carey first missed a nick off Imam’s bat (did not take DRS), and then spilled Rizwan’s catch late in the day. Carey’s DRS judgment is now starting to become a slight concern - notably, in the Ashes too his ‘non-appeals’ cost the team a few wickets.
The biggest positive from a bowling standpoint for Australia was Cameron Green, who managed to tail the old ball both ways, making life incredibly difficult for Babar Azam early in his innings.
Despite eventually finishing with figures of 0/47, Green showed enough across the 15 overs he bowled in the first innings to suggest that he could fill in as a third seamer if need be.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see if the 22-year-old's impressive old ball showing on Day 2 ends up convincing the captain and the coach to lay faith in him and bring in Mitch Swepson in place of one of Hazlewood or Starc. The latter, barring a few odd deliveries, turned out to be largely ineffective in the first innings, even when the ball was reversing.
