PERTH: Imran Khan Senior burst through the hosts’ second string with 5 for 32 as Pakistan continued to show impressive signs ahead of the Test series when they dismissed Australia A for 122 on day two of their three-day tour match on Tuesday.
Australia A slumped to 57-9 before regaining a modicum of respectability with the help of Cameron Bancroft - top-scoring at No. 6 with 49. Bancroft was not part of the side until Nic Maddinson withdrew a few days ago as he added 65 in 33.1 overs for the last wicket with Riley Meredith. The first nine wickets survived only 23.3 overs between them.
Joe Burns made a first-ball duck, incumbent opener Marcus Harris made 16, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head fell to the part-time off-spin of Iftikhar Ahmed and Will Pucovski was also out cheaply. A second innings on the final day could yet prove decisive.
Pakistan were a bowler down in tragic circumstances following the death of 16-year-old Naseem Shah’s mother, with him given leave for the day.Pakistan were offered the opportunity to bring Mohammad Abbas into the team, but the game would have lost first-class status so they declined and continued with ten players. Players from both sides wore black armbands.
Pakistan’s overnight century-makers, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam, retired to allow others a hit and the total was lifted to 428 by the first interval, with Yasir Shah making a half-century. Jhye Richardson finished with 3 for 79, but in 118 overs Australia A managed just seven wickets.
It was a bit different when Pakistan got the ball. Imran struck with his first delivery when he beat Burns’ flat-footed drive and five overs later Harris was cleaned up by a beauty from Shaheen Afridi.
Being dismissed by high-quality pace bowling with the pink ball is one thing, but falling to Iftikhar would not have been in the script. Head gave him a sizeable helping hand when he cut a short ball to point before Khawaja edged to the keeper from round the wicket in a style of dismissal that has been a feature of his career.
At least for Head he scored a century in the previous round of Sheffield Shield matches; for Khawaja, who was considered another option to open alongside David Warner, it has been a difficult time in first-class cricket.
The last batsman in the line-up, seemingly, with an eye on the Gabba - the uncapped Pucovski - survived one huge appeal for caught behind off Imran before edging a delivery into the slips that climbed from short of a length.
Captain Alex Carey dragged on as he attempted to leave the ball, Michael Neser edged to slip while Richardson was lbw to complete Imran’s five-wicket haul in the blink of an eye and Sean Abbott was trapped by Shaheen to leave it 57-9. Shaheen eventually managed to dismiss Bancroft when he found the outside edge with Abid Ali taking the catch.Pakistan were 7 without loss in their second innings at stumps.