28 December 2023 , 14:02
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Hasan Ali got the Australian fans dancing on Day Three of the Second Test in Melbourne as he got the crowd off their feet.
Pakistan have headed Down Under for a three-match Test Series and are in the midst of playing the second at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is always packed as a Boxing Day tradition. Ali found himself fielding on the boundary with the hosts into bat.
Australians can create a hostile atmosphere, but the Pakistani star found himself leading hundreds as he showed off his rhythm. Ali led the moves with those behind him in the stands following, leading to huge cheers before he turned to applaud their efforts.
The visitors are looking to recover from a First Test mauling and thought they were about to take control of the match with Australia slipping to 16-4 for a lead of just 70. However by the end of the day they'd opened up a commanding 241 run lead.
That was largely down to the efforts of Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith, who had a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 153. Marsh eventually saw his innings end four runs shy of his century whilst Smith was out for 50. He fell to the last ball of the day as the hosts finished on 187-6.
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Marsh said: "There's a lot of voices inside your head at 4 for 16. It was I guess a big moment for me personally to, in that moment, just have a little think about how I wanted to go about it and be true to myself. I've said that on record. So, I guess I had to stay true to myself. It felt really hard work. The ball was swinging around.
"It was a matter of trying to get through but also making sure I put the bad balls away. And I was able to do that. So I still felt even on 96 that I could nick one, and I did. There's still plenty in the wicket."
The visiting bowler applauded their effortsAli's highlight was his interaction with the crowd after failing to take any wickets from his 12 overs, bowling two maidens. The pick of the Pakistan bowlers was Mir Hamza, who finished on 3-27.
Pakistan are already facing a difficult chase on a wearing pitch as they look to keep the series alive ahead of the third and final test in Sydney, which begins on January 3.
In an usual turn of events in Melbourne, play after lunch was delayed because the third umpire, Richard Illingworth, got stuck in a lift. Players returned to the middle after the lunch break in time for the scheduled 1.25pm start to the session. But in bizarre scenes, the two central umpires wouldn't allow play to resume because Illingworth was unable to return to his post in the grandstand.