MELBOURNE – Pakistan faced a defeat by 79 runs against Australia in the Test match held in Melbourne, extending their winless streak on Australian soil. Chasing a challenging target of 317 runs, Pakistan stumbled to 237 all out on the fourth day of the match.
Despite promising performances from Babar Azam (41) and Shan Masood (60) after the early dismissals of openers, the team couldn’t sustain the momentum. Contributions from Mohammad Rizwan (35) and Agha Salman (50) added hope, but the tail-enders fell quickly, failing to add any runs to the total.
Australia, initially struggling at 16 for four on the preceding day, managed to post a competitive total of 262 before lunch on day four, thanks to a resilient 153-run partnership between Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith. Alex Carey’s determined half-century with a score of 52 further strengthened Australia’s position.
This defeat in Melbourne follows Pakistan’s loss in the first test of the three-match series in Perth, where they were dismissed for 89 in the fourth innings, resulting in Australia’s victory by a significant margin of 360 runs. The highest successful fourth-innings run chase at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) remains England’s 332 scored in 1928-29.