MELBOURNE – Rain has forced early tea break during the second game of the three match Test series between Pakistan and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first against the hosts. The visitor got the first breakthrough when Salman Ali Agha removed David Warner for 38. Hasan Ali claimed wicket of Usman Khawaja (38).
Australia were 114-2 when the match was stopped due to rain.
The Shan Masood-led outfit is eager to prove a point with the series still up for grabs as the hosts lead the series with 1-0.
The series opener at Perth saw Pakistan face defeat by 360 runs, but the silver lining for the visitors was the performance of the two debutants, Aamir Jamal and Khurram Shahzad, who picked up seven and five wickets respectively in the match. Aamir will be looking to build up on his brilliant performance as he registered the sixth-best bowling figures for a Pakistan player on debut with his 6-111.
Meanwhile, Khurram has been ruled out of the Test series due to a stress fracture while Abrar Ahmed remains unavailable for selection for the MCG Test.
Pakistan’s 12-man squad for MCG Test: Shan Masood (c), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi (vc), Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal and Sajid Khan