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Big partnership in the context of the game. If they can add another 20-odd, the lead becomes noteworthy in a low scoring slug fest. As is Jansen showing he may well become a #7, while Keshav is playing with the poise of a man who has 3 Test 50s. Very organised. He probably has done himself a disservice, especially in a South African side both devoid of batsmen and obsessed with pace, in not working a little harder on his batting to be a #7.

It's one of those in between scores, clearly not decisive but does create some pressure on Pakistan. The kind of score England would get batting first in an Ashes Test before a Marsh brother got to work

This actually strikes me as an "interesting" score to set up a Test Match... Haven't been able to watch the last hour or so but Id have thought 391 is still a bit under par so Australia will be hoping for early strikes.

I have seen the Pakistan tail , Olly And yes - it hardly inspires confidence ! Top six are pretty solid though - except on their 150 all out days..."mercurial" is an apt term , no ?

Early days ; but I'd suggest a result in this one might not be impossible...

It probably puts the draw as favourite again, though it's below a par score, but if Pakistan get around level there should be enough time for a one-innings shoot-out. Of course, if Pakistan bat midway into day four they should have a healthy lead and Australia will be batting for the draw.

Early signs are Australia will have a long time in the field.

Pakistan batting sedately to 90/1 at the close. 39 overs so not exactly turbo-charged but I guess they are setting themselves up to go big tomorrow . Will need to move a bit quicker - or lose wickets - if the third day is to be "moving day". Going to take a long time at this rate to get up around the Aussie total.
So I suppose they are eyeing a solid lead sometime on day four and hope to get at Australia over the last few sessions ; while the tourists
will of course be hoping for some success with reverse swing
tomorrow to enable them to get a lead of their own with plenty of time left to set a target...

Unless this pitch goes feral unlike the previous ones I think it might take one of these teams to be a bit bolder than we have seen so far in the series if they're to force a result. Will either be prepared to take a bit of a risk ?

Imagine Pakistan will take a risk-averse approach to proceedings. If they go along at a nice 2.5-3 per over until midway on day four, they'll have a nice tidy lead. Then about 90 overs to bowl Australia out, Shaheen with the new, Naseem with the old, before chasing down what's left. Job's a good'un. I think Australia will really feel fatigue, as they've picked the same attack, if they don't get early breakthroughs tomorrow.

Australia will need to bowl Pakistan out tomorrow for the best chance of victory, but that looks quite unlikely on that pitch.

Best thing for the neutral is, of course, somewhere in between with Pakistan bowled out early on day four with the scores level, or a slight Pakistan lead, which would set up a thrilling finish...especially if the wicket becomes lively on days four and five.

Just watching the highlights of the first two days now, and Shaheen is doing the Wasim Akram trick when bowling round the wicket. He lines up and runs up hidden behind the umpire and only pops out at the last second! Akram spoke about doing in on one of his Sky Masterclasses - he thought it made it harder for batters to line him up. I’d have to go back and check whether Shaheen has always done this and I’ve just not noticed or if it is a new thing.

152/1 nearing lunch...

Some good bowling : Cummins has drawn a couple of edges but they have gone pretty much straight to ground. And there have been signs of a bit of help for the spinners ; but Pakistan will be feeling quite good I'd imagine , having not lost a wicket and managed to keep the score moving at a reasonable if not exactly exciting 2.5 per over.

Going to need to up the tempo later though or they'll be leaving far too much to do on the last two days - unless the pitch really does "go" dramatically ...

Bit of drama at end of session as Azar dabs a late cut off Swepson and Smith cannot hold the catch at slip...difficult chance but on these pitches you don't get too many.

159/1 off 67 overs at lunch.

Two wickets in the second session...Cummins bringing off a great c&b to get a vital break - needed to , since his slips can't catch

235/3 now so two more wickets would be into the tail...but with 97 overs down already they'd want to get Babar and Fawad out soon or things might get ugly tomorrow ...

Scoring rate though still suggests Pakistan will not get past the Australian total until after lunch at best ; so time to force a result looks limited. Not saying definite draw yet but I think it is looking the favourite - again.

Perhaps if I keep talking up the stalemate something dramatic will happen

It is pretty turgid. Babar is looking elegant but how Fawad has survived vs Lyon is a miracle. He keeps going back to try and cut balls that aren’t bouncing above shin height! He’ll probably ton up now.

Swepson has been very ineffectual. He doesn’t seem to get any real drift or drop on it - looking very Bryce McGain at the moment. One of Warne’s legacies (like Gilchrist) will be convincing teams that you can find Test quality leg spinners when there have been about 10 good ones in the history of the game!

JDizzle wrote:It is pretty turgid. Babar is looking elegant but how Fawad has survived vs Lyon is a miracle. He keeps going back to try and cut balls that aren’t bouncing above shin height! He’ll probably ton up now.

Swepson has been very ineffectual. He doesn’t seem to get any real drift or drop on it - looking very Bryce McGain at the moment. One of Warne’s legacies (like Gilchrist) will be convincing teams that you can find Test quality leg spinners when there have been about 10 good ones in the history of the game!

True. Really hasn't impressed me - not that I've watched all of his overs !

Was one ball this morning that really ripped ...quite Warnesque , batsman was totally beaten and lucky it didn't graze the stump. But I think it was a fluke...

Aha !  Pakistan collapsing in this last session against the pace of Cummins and Starc...264/6 now , still 127 behind and these two have done a similar job to that of Naseem and Shaheen on second day : they miss , I hit.

A lot up to Babar with just the tail to offer what support they can...

Now seems Australia will lead , just unsure by how much. Looking well ahead I can see the usual arguments about declaration timing being rerun tomorrow night or Friday morning

Thanks for all your hard work up there, Alfie.

268/7 as Nauman is pinned in front...tried a Shane Watson review but that was stone dead.

Four for Cummins ... Leading from the front

Been some excellent bowling by Starc and Cummins. With assists from Alfie! Targeting the stumps with a touch of movement and variable bounce is what is needed in these conditions.

Weird situation for Babar now. Ideally he’d want to get to the close and then kick on aggressively tomorrow, but he can’t do that if the Aussies keep taking wickets.

Pal Joey wrote:Thanks for all your hard work up there, Alfie.

It is hard work on this pitch , PJ ! Though the pace men on both sides have been able to target the stumps rather effectively - and scoring hasn't been too easy.

Another one gone as Smith holds a catch at last ! Five for Captain Pat

214/2 to 268/8. Brilliant from Cummins and Pakistan's long tail exposed.

Babar has to play some shots and get his team within 50.

Nope, no chance for Babar, gets a harsh LBW. Looks like we will get a winner to this series.

Could see this innings over tonight - and a lead of over 100.

And in fact they surely will now as Babar falls to Starc ! Will be over any ball now...

In fact Babar might count himself a little unlucky then to be given out on field as drs shows that just grazing leg stump but gone he is...

Five wickets fallen for 12 ! Wonder why I am sometimes uneasy about long tails ?

All out for 268. What a collapse...what excellent pace bowling

So Cummins can put his feet up now and try and judge when to declare tomorrow...

That last ball... the little infidel Warner face to face with the mighty Shaheen. Good to see.
All fun and games. Warner might need a library ladder tomorrow though.

Appears Pakistan have a tail that would make Irani/Caddick/Giddens/Tufnell/Mullally proud

Joey - trust you're stockpiling Cummins & Starc's points for me.

A 7-20 collapse is England-like. Pakistan really do put their fans through it.

Australia in a good position now although they will be mindful of the tremendous rearguard P mounted in the last Test.

Incredibly attacking declaration from Australia - Pakistan set 351 to win in about 120 overs, on what is still a good batting track.

If Pakistan go at around 2 an over for the first 60 overs, the required run rate will still be below 4, so Australia will have to get plenty of early wickets. If Pakistan are only one or two down at lunch tomorrow, Australia will be on the defensive.

Wow, that is bold. I thought something like 400 in 100 overs was on the cards. That would still have given a slight carrot and allowed a decent amount of overs with the second new ball

350 in 121 is certainly attainable - but given it is five out all out I suspect Pakistan will be reluctant to embrace much risk in pursuit of the target...

They'll surely want to get through to the close tonight without loss and see where they are overnight. If Swepson is allowed to bowl enough full tosses and long hops they might fancy going for it

Still even three per over isn't easy on a fifth day pitch. And the threat of more reverse swing is going to loom over them - that second new ball will be ready around tea tomorrow too. If they run this down they'll deserve it...though I'm sure the critics would be after Cummins as they were Sobers in 1968 !

Still have my money on a Australian win - or another draw.

There is no way Swepson was a better option than Hazlewood. Australia would have been better off with a Maxwell type at six as the second spinner with three front line pacers than a front line spinner with the ability of an adequate back up.

Nearly a wicket at the end, but the ball eludes Smith once more. Top effort from the openers. Imam settled after some struggles early on, they also ran really well between the wickets and heaped the pressure on the Australian fielders. Lyon was a danger, Swepson diabolical, and there was no threat with the new ball. Australia will be praying for that reverse swing tomorrow.

278 from 90 overs tomorrow for a Pakistan win, very attainable. 10 wickets for Australia, a very tough ask. I think ten wickets in one day has only happened one out of 14 times in this series so far.

Fantastically set up. Wouldn't like to call it. Imagine if Pakistan won - they've only taken 13 wickets in the entire test! Could be a crowning day for Babar Azam tomorrow, that would be fitting.

Steve Smith joins Virat Kohli in being washed? What a great timeline

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Bangladesh scored an ODI win over South Africa in South Africa today. A highly impressive 314 from Bangladesh was enough. Good on 'em.

South Africa need to be careful in the ODI World Cup qualifying league - another loss or two here, and suddenly they’re going to need to be picking up wins against the best sides. They’re languishing in the current table a fair bit (Bangladesh by contrast are flying!)

And Bangladesh with a thumping 9 wicket victory yesterday continue to pile some pressure on South Africa, who are now in a spot of bother and potentially missing out on automatic qualification for the ODI World Cup (you'd imagine even if they do, they would qualify via the qualifiers...but never nice to have to actually do it...). Taskin Ahmed was bowling with some serious pace. Quite a good few months for the Tigers!

Very good start for Pakistan leaving them ten wickets and 90 overs to make 278...interesting situation.

Still reckon keeping three per over on day five will be tough. The first session will tell us a lot , I think  : I'd expect a bit of reverse and the two pace men will be throwing everything at them. Get through that and Cummins will need to be on his toes , as Swepson might be too risky for a lot of overs so a great deal could be down to Lyon.

Last - potentially enthralling - day about to commence in Lahore...

In the meantime , in NZ , Australia's Invincibles have plunged to 90/5 against Bangladesh in pursuit of 136

I haven't really been paying a lot of attention to this but it is surprising to say the least. Money is still there on 40 so I imagine they'll get there OK anyway : but perhaps Bangladesh need to be taken fairly seriously by England tomorrow !

I do think Australia can be beat. We lost to them with five overs to spare, but I'm not being facetious when I say outside of Alyssa Healy, the entire top seven got a second life when batting, so I wasn't surprised to see them in a spot of bother.

Saying they can be beaten, and saying that they'll lose are two different things though. They look so string 1-7, and in Meg Lanning they have arguably the greatest women's batter ever, with Perry probably being top five (as well as just plain and simply the greatest women's cricketer ever). No other team has multiple batters capable of scoring 80-90 at run a ball. It's gonna take a colossal bowling effort to beat them, because there's no batting line up that can go strength vs strength with them.

There's got to be a bottom limit on how many wickets you can take and still win a Test. Winning a Test match having taken 12 wickets is embarrassing.

Controversy corner in Lahore !

Azhar given out on drs for an alleged graze of the bat before striking his pad... Not out on field ; but some tiny murmurs on that ultra edge thing as the ball passed under the bat convinced the TV umpire to reverse it.

Opinions will differ . Something must cause the ripples ... But it didn't really look typical of an edge : perhaps because the ball stayed in - slight - contact with the bat for some time , sort of rolled along the under edge ?

(I am not a scientist and cannot really comment on the details of the technology : just speculating)

Azhar very much unhappy. Aussie close fielders all up immediately. Commentators seem to think it is a fair decision.

I really don't know. In the scorebook anyway so that's that

Funny though : drs was supposed to save arguments , apart from just preventing major injustices. Doesn't always do so ...

116/2. Ball doing plenty for Lyon. If Pakistan can bat this out they will have done well. They aren't getting near 351 ...

It wasn't out, that was an incredibly poor decision. Pakistan can still win this if Babar bats through the vast majority of the innings. Lyon's getting a lot of action, but not much for the other bowlers.

I said it after the second West Indies test, the review system needs an overhaul. Ultra edge on its own is not sufficient to be making these decisions, it works perfectly for clear mistakes when you can see the ball deviate etc. but for the tight ones it's no good.

Cummins doing the job for Australia in the middle session. Pakistan's tail exposed with 46.3 overs left, after Rizwan chose not to review one that was actually not out.

Yeah, this is looking like the end for Pakistan. Australia have been far the better team in the series and do deserve the win, also will be good to see the preparation of roads backfiring on the home side

I legit haven't seen Australia reverse swing a ball this much in four years and two days.

The big weakness of the review system , eh ? People waste them when they are clearly out and others then aren't game to risk when they should. No perfect solution I'm afraid it is just a matter of judgement - like a lot of skills in this game.

Five out and unless Babar can somehow manage to face practically all the bowling this is only going one way. Forty odd overs left ? Reckon this will be done with plenty to spare , even if Lyon and Cummins have to do most of the work. Can put their feet up after...

kingraf wrote:I legit haven't seen Australia reverse swing a ball this much in four years and two days.

VTR wrote:Yeah, this is looking like the end for Pakistan. Australia have been far the better team in the series and do deserve the win, also will be good to see the preparation of roads backfiring on the home side

That's true. Also will be good to see Cummins rewarded for being brave enough to give Pakistan what many people , even on here , thought was a serious chance of victory. Not sure the "dangling of the carrot" had much to do with the dismissals today ; but it certainly ensured more overs for the Aussies , even if they failed to strike last night.

I said on day one or two that it would take one team to be a bit bold if they want to win ; and I think this is being borne out.

Of course if Babar does a Stokes and blasts another 165 in the next forty overs I will have to swallow all that and salute him

For Babar to do a Stokes, you need a Jack Leach! Jack would walk into this Pakistan side as the batting all-rounder at number 7

VTR wrote:Yeah, this is looking like the end for Pakistan. Australia have been far the better team in the series and do deserve the win, also will be good to see the preparation of roads backfiring on the home side

Yes, Pakistan should have backed themselves on proper sub-continent pitches. Instead we've seen flat decks that are more akin to something you would see in, well, Australia. Bizarre.

Umpires having a 'mare ...but I guess drs and review errors are sort of evening out.

Five down at tea and the tail will need to perform heroics to hang on. After watching the first innings that is hard to see happening ! But credit to Sajid Khan for making it to the interval at least...

Looks like Pakistan are having a go at this now. Hoping they don't do it, the next 4 are about as useful with the bat as Chris Martin, so one will probably bring 5 quickly

And they lose 2 for none. Bet they don't even make 220

kingraf wrote:I legit haven't seen Australia reverse swing a ball this much in four years and two days.

It does make you wonder. How much movement were Afridi and Naseem getting?

There it is then, 213-5 to 235 all out. The second complete capitulation of the tail in the match as Australia earn a very notable series victory