IIf you had watched Pakistan play a Test match in Australia over the summer, you might have had the feeling that a schoolteacher knows. Anyone in charge of students can tell you the most frustrating students: those who are smart and interesting, but for some reason just can’t put things together.
They were brilliant, unpredictable, and most frustrating of all, which sometimes included playing up to their potential. They may work hard for a while to improve their test scores. Then on the last day of term, they stole a bunch of chemicals from the science lab and burned down the bike shed.
That was the end of the Boxing Day Test, with any chance of a fifth-day thriller evaporating in the extended fourth day. In sports, you want to see the unexpected, the new, the original. Since 1995, Pakistan has never won a Test match in Australia, nor a series. They had the chance to correct one of the results in Melbourne and leave room for the other. That possibility lingered for four days from the moment the coin fell into Pakistan’s hands until the disastrous final hour.
It’s not that they were ever favorites chasing 317, they needed the fourth batting almost as much as Australia’s first batting. But there are also moments of possibility. At 110 for 2, new captain Shan Masood was purring and former captain Babar Azam was somehow back to form. At 162 for 4, the then relatively new but extremely consistent Saud Shakeel was ready. Especially at 219 for 5, Mohammed Rizwan and Agha Salman reduced the target to double figures.
Australians must be feeling a little worried. Rizwan, the lively wicketkeeper, is playing in his aggressive way, breaking cover and pulling the ball. Salman’s bat is of seven-ball spin, but his batting skills are much better than the average all-rounder. The looming prospect of these two needing 70 or 80 points to win on day five would give Pat Cummins sleepless nights.

Instead, the Australia captain was back in action for a hostile brief spell, taking a borderline decision against Rizwan before bombing the previously stubborn Aamer Jamal. At seven wickets, the umpires were allowed to extend time by half an hour, enough for Cummins and Mitchell Starc to clear the remaining overs. The last four entries on Pakistan’s scorecard are 0, 0, 0, not 0.
This is not just the last day Pakistan has a chance. Even at 187 for 3 after day one, it felt like they had almost got Australia under control. Seven wickets in the first session on day two completed the job. But among these successes, there were also failures, such as conceding an extra 52 balls, bowling the wrong length on the first morning, David Warner being bowled two hours before batting, and the second Too many points lost quickly this morning.
Another catch from Mitchell Marsh in their second bowling session was a clear turning point – with Australia trailing by 5 runs in 46 overs, Alex Carey Carey is under tremendous pressure. Instead, Marsh made 96, preventing Carey from playing the kind of innings he has become so adept at, knocking out an enterprising 53 from a more advantageous position. If these things were any different, the game would probably do the same thing.
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Of course, a home win is always a possibility once the target is set, and the fast bowling trio could go down as the best in Australian history. Hazlewood has resumed his role as paceman, Starc has improved as a Test bowler late in his career and Cummins has found a way here to intervene when needed. Taking 10 wickets for the second time in his career, he crossed the 250-run mark. With two more successful years, he could have scored over 300 points, with Dennis Lillee becoming Australia’s second-highest pacer behind Glenn McGrath.
It is therefore impressive that this inexperienced and under-achieving Pakistan team was able to carry it down to Australia. They had played four days and the line-ball ruling against Rizwan could have been an advantage. It opened up the lower order and left them bombarded with faded light on the pitch, the bounce was tricky and their collective failure was due to a lack of skill rather than application.
You might say that correcting mistakes is what will take Pakistan from now to an accomplished team. But even so, they came close. Then they didn’t. That’s the frustration.