Riding on superb knocks of 185 and 154 from Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner, respectively, Australia thrashed Pakistan by an innings and five runs in the first Test of the two-match series in Brisbane on Sunday.
At Gabba, after trailing the hosts by 340 runs in the first innings, Pakistan were bowled out for 335 late on the fourth day.
Earlier, opting to bat Pakistan could only manage 240 runs in their first innings. Asad Shafiq with his 76 was the top scorer for the side. For Australia, Mitchell Starc demolished the vistors by bagging 4 for 52.
Meanwhile, Labuschagne’s maiden Test century combined with a dominating knock from David Warner fired the hosts to 580 all out. Joe Burns missed his century by 3 runs.
In their second innings, Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali (5), Haris Sohail (8) and Asad Shafiq (0) lost their wickets cheaply to leave the visitors tottering. However, a gritty 104 from Babar Azam and 95 from Mohammad Rizwan showed some resilience before succumbing in front of a brilliant Australian pace attack. Pakistan got bundled out for 335 runs.
“It is pretty special to have it all pan out like that. It is a privilege to wear this cap and it is good to have a winning contribution. It was very tough (in the 90s), your mind keeps casting you forward if you get there, you get bit nervous and once I got there there was plenty of emotions,” said Player of the Match Labuschagne.
“It is a big thing not only for me but for my family and everyone who have contributed to my success. It has been a long process and not happened overnight. Some of the technical changes that I have done,” he added.