In a rain-curtailed session, David Warner on (72*) and Marnus Labuschagne on (60*) continued to place the groundwork for a respectable score as Australia reached 139 for 1 at dinner on the Day 1 of the pink-ball Test against Pakistan in Adelaide on Friday (November 29).
When the game resumed after a respectable part of the second session, it was washed out due to continuous rain, Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Afridi opened the attack in the shortened session. With a bit of moisture around, Afridi troubled Labuschagne outside the off-stump. Nevertheless, when Afridi tried to target the stumps in an attempt to get the number three batsman, Labuschagne turned the joint to the boundary hoardings. Meanwhile, his batting partner, Warner, completed his fifty.
Warner and Labuschange put up a good batting display
The batting duo slowly but constantly forged a partnership of more than a hundred. With Pakistan searching for wickets, Azhar Ali moved to Yasir Shah and Muhammad Musa. But Labuschagne showed his class and quality with three boundaries in quick succession to put the opposition under pressure. Labuschagne reached another Test fifty as he and Warner were well in control.
Previously, after Australia opted to bat, Joe Burns and Warner set out to follow up their good work at the Gabba with another large stand. But in the Gabba Test, the pair couldn’t forge a partnership. During the fourth over of the innings, Afridi received the reward after he hit a good length and extracted movement making Burns edge one behind.
Following that, Labuschagne, the man in form, and Warner joined forces. After a loud appeal for a catch behind the stumps, the number three batsman once again displayed his ability to move away from the stumps and swipe Abbas to the boundary. Warner, meanwhile, made most of the short and wide deliveries offered by Musa. The 19-year-old bowler also overstepped a few times. After the session ended, the rain started and the tea was taken early.
