Marnus Labuschange struck at the Gabba, his maiden Test century at his home ground, ending his wait for that landmark in a session that belonged to him. He not only reached that landmark but also because he kept the engine running when David Warner couldn’t do much. And while Australia lost Warner and Steve Smith’s wickets during the session, Labushchange and Matthew Wade extended Australia’s lead to 155, going to lunch for 395 for 3, consolidating their place in the Test.
Pakistan’s bowlers learned their lessons from a deflating second-day game in Brisbane when Australia scored 313 runs and straightened their lines and bowled in the opening session with a lot of discipline. The runs dried up, especially to Warner, who added bizarrely with his overnight score of 151 just three runs before he got out. Nonetheless, Labuschange kept ticking the scoreboard with a fine combination of caution and attack. It was Naseem Shah, as luck would have it, who picked up Warner to get his maiden Test wicket. This time Naseem was not going too far. It was a bouncer rising into the left-hander, who got caught in a tangle to get the bottom-edge pouched by the keeper.
Smith sent Yasir Shah off his first ball for a boundary but knocked over his stumps soon after. He played across the line as the ball dipped on him to knock him over. He then went on to score with a streaky boundary to be unbeaten at 102, with an aggressive Wade at 29.
Brief scores: Pakistan-240 (Azhar Ali- 39, Shan Masood- 27, Asad Shafiq- 76; Mitchell Stars 4-52, Josh Hazlewood 2-46, Pat Cummins 3-60). Trail Australia-95/3 (David Warner 154, Joe Burns 97, Marnus Labuschagne 102*; Yasir Shah 2-145) by 155 runs.
