Australia won the 1st Test match against Pakistan by a margin of an innings and 5 runs at Gabba. It was a one-sided affair in the longer format but Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam were the two players for visitors who excelled in their performances in the match.
The former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar appreciated both men in green who impressed him with their performances. He also accepted the fact that their team should have put in some more effort to avoid the defeat by an innings.
In the first innings, Pakistan batsman, Babar Azam, got off to a poor start. When he came to bat in the second innings, he smashed his second ton in Tests. However, he only added four runs after his century before Nathan Lyon got him out.
Mohammed Rizwan, on the other hand, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed in the side, played an impressive knock of 95 runs in an effort to avoid his team from losing the match by an innings. He also contributed well in the 1st innings, scoring 37 runs, but he was given out by the third umpire on a no-ball that was bowled by Pat Cummins. Later on, the former cricketing greats like Shane Warne and Mickey Arthur criticized the third umpire’s decision.
After the match ended, the former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar took to his Twitter handle to praise the performances of Rizwan and Babar, and wrote, “Courageous fight by Babar Azam & Rizwan but it was a real uphill task. Australia had put up a huge total. Pakistan should have put a little more effort to avoid an innings defeat.”
