Australia recover to 70-2 at lunch after Shaheen Afridi’s double strike in series-deciding third Test

Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets in three balls to rattle Australia at the start of third and deciding Test in Lahore before they recovered to 70-2 at lunch on Monday.

Shaheen had Australia in trouble at 8-2 in the third over of the innings when he trapped David Warner lbw and then had Marnus Labuschagne edge behind to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for a duck two balls later.

At the break, opener Usman Khawaja was on 31 and Steve Smith 28, having fought back with an unbroken third-wicket stand of 62 after Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat on a brownish Gaddafi Cricket Stadium pitch.

The 21-year-old Shaheen was fiery with the new ball, troubling the batsmen with skidding deliveries during an incisive five-over spell of two wickets for 17 runs.

Smith, who survived a confident leg-before appeal off Shaheen first ball, also saw spinner Nauman Ali fail to hold a hard catch when he was on 19.

Khawaja, slower off the mark, hit Nauman for a six to release the pressure.

The three-Test series is deadlocked at 0-0 after the first Test in Rawalpindi also ended in a draw.

The Test is the first to take place in Lahore since the 2009 fatal terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus that forced Pakistan to play their home matches abroad, mostly in the United Arab Emirates.

Australia are touring Pakistan for the first time since 1998, having previously refused to play in the country because of security fears.

Teams:

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah

Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Ahsan Raza (PAK) TV umpire: Asif Yaqoob (PAK)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

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