Melbourne, Dec 30:
Mitchell Starc spearheaded Australia to a stunning final day innings victory over Pakistan to claim the series in Melbourne on Friday.
The fast bowler smashed 84 off 91 balls with a record seven sixes and then captured four wickets for 36 to lead Australia to a resounding innings and 18-run victory over the hapless tourists.
Skipper Steve Smith set the ball rolling for a dramatic victory when he declared Australia’s first innings at 624 for eight just before lunch.
That gave Australia a 181-run lead and a minimum of 70 overs to bowl out Pakistan. In the end the Australians needed only 53.2 overs to pull off an emphatic victory and with their 39-run win in the first Gabba Test to clinch the three-Test series.
While Smith was named man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 165, it was Starc who put his stamp on the game with his sensational effort with bat and ball.
Starc clubbed seven sixes, the most in an innings in a Melbourne Test, and was severe on Yasir Shah, belting the leg-spinner for five sixes.
He then got into the act with the ball and took the wickets of Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah to clean up the Pakistan tail for Australia.
It was an astonishing collapse by the tourists, who appeared safe from defeat after amassing 443 for nine declared in their first innings over the first three rain-affected days before losing control of the match.
The defeat was Pakistan’s 11th straight test loss in Australia after their last win in Sydney in 1995. Skipper Smith set up the exciting finish with a calculated declaration shortly before lunch.(PTI)
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