Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc routed Pakistan in a devastating final hour of play on day three of the third Test to lift the visitors into a commanding position, in pursuit of a 1-0 series victory.
The two quicks combined for 7-20 in the last 60 minutes, and tore through the final four wickets in 10 balls and without conceding a run, in what could prove to be a series-defining hour.
Cummins finished with 5-56 and Starc 4-33 as Australia rolled Pakistan for 268, before openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner upped the tourists’ lead to 134 over the remaining three overs of the day.
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Among the final-hour flurry of wickets was a pearler from Starc that shattered Mohammad Rizwan’s stumps.
Charging in bowling around the wicket to the right-handed Rizwan, the left-armer tapped into his reverse swing, pitched the ball on a length and had it straighten off the seam, the delivery crashing into off as the bails went flying.
Former Sheffield Shield batter Mike Haysman branded the Starc ball “an absolute beauty”.
“Rizwan’s a little bit stunned,” Haysman added on the Fox Cricket broadcast.
“I think that was special from Starc.”
Perhaps Cummins’ most extraordinary highlight came during the second session, when the New South Welshman removed Azhar Ali with a phenomenal caught and bowled.
The first drop played an uppish straight drive and Cummins, operating with lightning-quick reflexes, took the catch with two hands.
“What a catch!” Haysman said.
“What a catch that was. That was absolutely sensational from Pat Cummins. A remarkable catch.”
Australia’s sole wicket-taker outside Cummins and Starc was veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who trapped opener Abdullah Shafique lbw.
Shafique top-scored for Pakistan with 81, while Ali (78) and captain Babar Azam (67) also made notable contributions.
“It’s all a bit of a blur, the last couple of hours,” Cummins said after play.
“We’ll sit back, obviously bat tomorrow… we’ve given ourselves a really good opportunity here. (We’re) really in front of the game. Hopefully bat well and then try to take those last 10 wickets.”
The first Test ended in a draw in Rawalpindi and the second match resulted in a stalemate in Karachi.
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