Warner and Labuschagne lead Australia to an eight wicket win and series sweep – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports editor)
Australia showed no mercy as David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne crushed Pakistan racing to victory chasing a mediocre 130 for a clean sweep of the three Test series.
Warner, in his last Test in the Baggy Green, was at his flamboyant best producing a wide array of strokeplay he is renowned for, leaving lasting memories of arguably the best opening batsman Australia has ever produced in all formats.
His departure from the red ball game leaves a void that is hard to fill and it will undoubtedly take considerable time to produce an opener with the same consistency and and flair.
Australia won the series on the back of Cummins superb efforts with the ball which fittingly gave him the man-of-the-series as he led his team remarkably from the front.
Pakistan will reflect and rue their sloppy fielding and wayward bowling at times which could have won them at least one Test.
Warner smashed 57 off 75 balls with 7 fours and steered Australia out of any trepidation when Usman Khawaja fell early with the score on 0 in the sixth ball of the innings.
Australia began the day with Pakistan on the ropes at 68 for 7 and the tail wagged once more to make it a respectable 115 for a 130 run lead.
Josh Hazelwood with 4 wickets and Nathan Lyon three, kept Pakistan tied down making the target easily achievable.
Warner and Labuschagne showed more intent and took the terrors of the wicket away with an adventurous approach.
They raced to half centuries, Warner off 60 balls and Labuschagne off 64 balls as Australia coasted to a nine wicket win. He fell short of winning the game when he was given out on review to Sajid Khan.
Labuschagne was not out on 62 in the end.
In his post match interview Warner urged young cricketers to chase their dream with passion and without fear. He insisted that they should be adventurous and play carefree cricket backing their natural instincts.
Pakistan’s bowlers lacked the sting of the first innings seemingly resigned to their fate and the outcome of defending a small total throwing in the towel.
Pakistan skipper Shan Masood was gracious in defeat saying his team learnt a lot from this series against an Australian side that was on top of their game. “The little percentages make the difference between winning and losing. We did not convert fifties to hundreds and take five wickets instead of three” he said. “Those little shortfalls make a difference. We will work on this before our next series against Bangladesh in ten months and try to rectify this,” he added.
Debutante Aamir Jamal was named player of the match for his remarkable work with the ball and an excellent innings with the bat in the first innings of the Sydney Test. He had two six wicket hauls in his maiden appearance.
