SYDNEY: Pacer Mohammad Asif took a career-best 6-41, inspiring Pakistan to make a perfect start in their second Test by routing Australia for just 127 runs on a greenish, seaming wicket here at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on a rainy Sunday.
But it was comeback pacer Mohammad Sami who set the stage for an Asif assault as he sent back the three Aussie top order batsmen for a combined total of just six runs to reduce the hosts to 10-3 before the first drinks break.
Pakistan’s new-ball pairing made full use of a juicy SCG track and a constant cloud cover to make Ricky Ponting rue his decision of batting first in bowler-friendly conditions. The Australian captain himself went for a duck, just his fourth in 236 Test innings.
At stumps on the rain-hit day, Pakistan managed to survive 20 anxious minutes to reach 14-0 in 4.1 overs with Imran Farhat on nine and Salman Butt on three.
Asif was the chief destroyer as he collected the second-best figures by a Pakistani bowler at the SCG. It was the lanky pacer’s sixth five-wicket haul in just his 16th Test and has raised hopes of the tourists who are looking to level the three-match series 1-1 here after losing by a 170 runs in Melbourne last week.
Australia’s misery began soon after Ponting opted to bat first on a wicket which had bowlers’ paradise written all over it.
Sami almost got Hughes, who came in for an injured Simon Katich, off his first ball but Umar Akmal dropped a regulation catch at gully.
However, Sami managed to send Hughes back in his very next over when the opener nicked one to Faisal Iqbal at second slip. Sami, clocking around the 150-kmph mark, scalped Ponting off his next delivery when the home captain hooked a short-pitched one to Umar Gul, who took a good catch in the deep.
The Karachi pacer, playing his first Test in 25 months, almost got his hat trick after his next ball struck Watson’s toe. He appealed an LBW and referred the decision to the third umpire after they were turned down by umpire Billy Doctrove. However, the third umpire decided that the ball had pitched outside the off-stump.
But Watson, who had prolific outings in the Melbourne Test, didn’t last much longer as he was caught behind off a faster one from Sami in the eighth over. At that time Sami had 3-5 from four overs.
From then on, Asif took over as the demolition man.He bowled a perfect line and exploited a darting seam to rip through the rest of the Aussie batting line.
He got rid of Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North and Brad Haddin before tea to reduce the hosts to 62-7 before tea before returning to bag the wickets of Hauritz and Johnson to complete his best figures.
For Asif, the “ball of the day” was the one that got him the wicket of Clarke as it swung in to shatter the stumps.
Michael Hussey and Marcus North attempted to rebuild the innings but both fell to some tight bowling from Asif. Hussey was the first to go as he spooned one to Msbah-ul-Haq in the slips when going for the pull shot.
Asif was on a hat trick when North edged one into the gloves of Kamran Akmal on the very next ball. Brad Haddin didn’t last much longer, becoming Asif’s next victim caught by skipper Mohammad Yousuf.
Johnson and Hauritz then began to pick up the pieces and went for their shots to take the Aussie total past 100.
In the process, they milked leggie Danish Kaneria for 17 runs in his second over by smashing him for two singles, two fours and a six off his second over. He was taken off the attack with 0-18 in two overs.
Johnson and Hauritz put on 44 for the eighth wicket. But Asif struck again in quick succession getting Hauritz with a ball that angled back before Johnson got out while going for a big one over extra-cover.
Umar Gul, who came for the injured Mohammad Aamer, ended an otherwise unimpressive spell with the wicket of Doug Bolinger to complete the rout.
Australia’s 127 in just 44.2 overs is their second-lowest score batting first at the SCG and worst at home since 1996.
The hosts were hoping to get a couple of Pakistani wickets before stumps but Farhat and Butt held fort before play was called off because of bad light.
Earlier, bad weather delayed the start of the opening day till 2.00 pm as a crowd of almost 30,000 turned up at the SCG.
Pakistan made three changes to the side that lost in Melbourne, bringing in Kaneria in place of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal while Sami and Gul replaced Aamer and discarded pacer Abdur Rauf.
