Peerless Cummins leads Aussies to big Test win

A contentious caught behind decision that required forensic study of Mohammad Rizwan's right forearm eventually cost the Pakistan keeper-batter his wicket and his team a shot at a drought-breaking Test win in Australia.

In a dramatic final half-hour at the MCG, what loomed as a tense day-five run chase ended as a 79-run win for Australia after Rizwan's removal sparked a complete capitulation in the face of sustained, aggressive fast bowling by Pat Cummins' team.

The win from nowhere was achieved at 6.21pm local time, and came courtesy of a couple of sensational diving catches from Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith as Pakistan's tailenders fended away a relentless bouncer barrage.

Rizwan was looming as the potential hero in an unlikely run chase of 317 for Pakistan's first Test win here since 1995 when he was adjudged caught behind as he attempted to duck a searing Cummins bouncer.

Cummins was convinced he had his man even though umpire Michael Gough denied the appeal, and Rizwan immediately pointed to what he indicated was the point of impact just below his right elbow.

However, television footage indicated the ball had brushed the right-hander much further down and had made contact with the elasticised wristband on his batting glove which – under the Laws of cricket – rendered him out.

The vehemence of Rizwan's defence coupled with the length of time taken for third umpire Richard Illingworth to reach the decision that sent a clearly aggrieved batter on his way ensure the crucial moment in Pakistan's brave chase of victory became enshrouded with conjecture.

Rizwan's capacity to revel in seemingly lost causes was well known to Australia before we went to the wicket today with Pakistan 4-146 and holding dwindling hopes after the dismissal of their most accomplished batter, Babar Azam.

It was the feisty keeper's patient 104 not out on the final day at Karachi in 2022 that prevented Australia closing out a beckoning Test win, and the 95 he scored in a 132-run partnership with Babr at Brisbane on his team's previous tour here provided a rare act of defiance in an otherwise lopsided campaign.

But not even Rizwan's dogged defiance, nor his steadfast reluctance to leave the field after a prolonged third-umpire examination of the evidence after Australia's call for review, could prevent his innings ending on 35.

His displeasure was shared by batting partner Salman Ali Agha who repeatedly pointed to his own forearm while gesticulating to on-field umpires Gough and Joel Wilson, despite the final decision resting in the hands of their off-field colleague.

When confirmation of the dismissal was finally shown on the electronic scoreboards, Rizwan continued to plead his case before eventually retrieving the bat, gloves and helmet he has discarded on pitch edge and stalking from the field in simmering fury.

With him went Pakistan's last realistic hope of reeling in the 97 runs then needed for a remarkable outright win, with only the tailenders to partner Salman in their forlorn quest.

However, no sooner had Rizwan departed than Cummins had Aamir Jamal bunt a return catch off another brutal bouncer, at which point Australia claimed the additional half-hour's play that is offered when a result is imminent.

And during that extended session, as shadows lengthened across the MCG, Cummins completed a 10-wicket haul for the match before Mitchell Starc snared 2-0 from consecutive deliveries as Pakistan's last three wickets fell without adding a run.

Despite Rizwan's obvious confidence that he could carry his team across the line prior to his contentious demise, the truth remained it was always an outside hope after Pakistan's best batting hopes had succumbed earlier in the innings.

Much of that burden lay with skipper Shan Masood and his captaincy predecessor Babar.

After Abdullah Shafique fell to a sharp slips catch by Usman Khawaja – itself, a moment steeped in irony given the far simpler chance Shafique shelled in that position a day earlier – and his opening partner Imam-ul-Haq was trapped lbw, the dream team set off in pursuit of the remaining 268 runs.

It was never going to be a straightforward task.

Only one touring team in the past 15 years has scored more than 317 in the fourth innings to win a Test in Australia, and that was India's history-making 329 to secure a series victory at the Gabba three summers ago.

But Shan, who had begun this tour with a regal double-century against a Cricket Australia XI at Canberra, showed he was up for the fight in a tough start to his innings.

The left-hander was struck a painful blow to the midriff by a Hazlewood short ball having scored just one, and added only 11 more before it seemed his defiance had met a premature end.

Masood was adjudged lbw by umpire Wilson in spinner Nathan Lyon's first over of the innings, but eventually opted to invoke captain's privilege with a review that most onlookers deemed to be speculative at best.

But to the surprise of many and the incredulity of a few – most notably Lyon, who slapped a hand to his head in silent shock – ball tracking technology showed the delivery bouncing well over the stumps even though it made contact with the knee roll of the batter's front pad.

When Cummins belatedly brought himself into the attack immediately after lunch, he got a fearsome short ball to climb at Shan's neck and in an instinctive move to deflect it away on the leg side the skipper copped a painful thud on the fingers.

However, having weathered that latest storm and the loss of Imam – who was fortunate to survive a confident lbw shout from Cummins but not so lucky against a second one two balls later – Shan began to blossom and Pakistan fans dared to dream.

At the other end, Babar was finally finding the sort of touch that earned him the title of Pakistan's best contemporary Test batter but which he had found frustratingly elusive across a handful of low scores in the series.

Like his captain, Babar was subjected to a reviewed lbw shout (from Hazelwood) early in his innings, but again the technology confirmed a ball the Australians felt was destined for the stumps was, in fact, clearing them quite comfortably.

More importantly, Babar seemed to have tightened up the defensive flaw that allowed Cummins to rattle his stumps in the first innings of this match, when the Australia skipper scythed what he described as "a dream ball" between his bat and pad.

And Cummins' capacity to produce those wicket-taking deliveries when most needed again came to the fore when his relentless targeting of the Pakistan pair's front pad led Shan to edge a low catch to second slip where Smith gleefully hung on.

And just as speculation began to simmer that Babar might reach 50 for the first time in the series and push on further to put his team within sight of triumph, the technical flaw exposed in the first innings reappeared and was duly exploited.

This time it was Hazlewood who landed a ball on the challenging length that lured Babar half-forward but not so committed that his front pad protected his stumps.

As a result, when Hazlewood extracted exaggerated movement from the well-grassed surface the sight of Babar's stumps being dismantled played out in near identical circumstances to Wednesday evening and the Australians' celebration was equally animated.

At 4-146, the goal of 317 was disappearing fast in the distance and became significantly further beyond reach when Shakeel – who had begun his maiden Australia campaign with a lofty Test average above 80 – was caught behind trying to uppercut a lifter from Starc.

It left renowned counter-puncher Rizwan as Pakistan's last recognised batter, with only spin-bowling allrounder Salman and four seamers with questionable batting credentials to find the 155 runs needed.

That goal would have been decidedly less imposing if not for Carey's invaluable half-century earlier in the day, and the 73 runs he was able to add with Australia's tailenders after his team resumed on 8-187 this morning.

Carey's output with the bat since back-to-back half centuries in the first two Tests of Australia's World Test Championship final and Ashes sojourn earlier this year has come under increasing scrutiny, despite his glovework – the skill for which he is selected – being mostly flawless.

However, on a pitch where more credentialled batters have struggled throughout this Test, the 32-year-old was rarely troubled as he took the lead in productive alliances formed productive alliances with Starc (partnership of 22), Cummins (28), Lyon (12) and Hazlewood (13).

NRMA Insurance Test series v Pakistan

First Test: Australia won by 360 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 79 runs

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (10.30am AEDT)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi