Australia's Nathan Lyon (C) and Australia's captain Tim Paine (2L) celebrate the wicket of England's Stuart Broad for 11 runs on the second day of the second Ashes cricket Test match between England and Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground in London on August 15, 2019. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. NO ASSOCIATION WITH DIRECT COMPETITOR OF SPONSOR, PARTNER, OR SUPPLIER OF THE ECB Australia regains control thanks to the twin fifties
On the second morning of the last Test against Pakistan, Alex Carey and Cameron Green scored measured half-centuries to help Australia reclaim control. The visitors had to rely largely on their last recognized batting duo to bail them out after losing their edge in the last session of the first day. With a century stand to keep the hosts at bay throughout the session, the overnight batter accomplished just that, pushing the score to 320 for 5.
Carey smashed Naseem Shah through the covers for his first boundary of the day, followed by Green smashing Shaheen Afridi through point three balls later for his second boundary of the day. The simultaneous appearance of Nauman Ali and Hasan Ali made no difference, as Carey and Green chose separate boundaries once more.
In the 100th over of the innings, a yorker from Hasan Ali glanced the offstump on its way to the keeper, giving Carey a slice of luck. The umpire initially thought the ball had hit the left-pad hander’s and called it out, only for the keeper-batter to reverse the ruling by contesting the on-field call. He eventually reached his third half-century after a few overs when he fetched two boundaries from Sajid Khan.
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Green, who used a more measured approach, hit the milestone for the fourth time in Tests as well, raising more than 100. Now that the first aim of 300 runs has been met, Australia will look to put up a strong first-innings total. But for that to happen, these two must stay on the same page and not relinquish their edge.
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Pakistan 320/5 (Usman Khawaja 91, Alex Carey 60*, Steven Smith 59; Naseem Shah 2/49) vs Australia 320/5 (Usman Khawaja 91, Alex Carey 60*, Steven Smith 59; Naseem Shah 2/49).