Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the series against Pakistan but not before Babar Azam scored a century and Mohammad Rizwan almost registered one as the tourists showed fighting qualities on Sunday at the Gabba.
Tim Paine’s side wrapped up victory by an innings and five runs inside four days but were at least made to work for it as Babar and Rizwan led from the front.
Australia will head to Adelaide, where the second and final match of the series begins on Friday, with an extra day’s break, which will enhance the chances of selectors sticking with the pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood that completed the job in Brisbane.
Hazlewood (4-63), Starc (3-73) and Cummins (2-62) shared the spoils in the second innings, although it was Nathan Lyon who claimed the crucial wicket of Babar.
Pakistan didn’t roll over as easily as many might have suspected they would when they resumed at 3-64 in their second innings on Sunday morning, still trailing by 276.
Their defiance was largely down to a superb 104 from Babar, whose 132-run partnership for the sixth wicket with gloveman Rizwan (95) kept Australia at bay until midway between lunch and tea on the fourth day.
It was only the third hundred scored by a Pakistan player at the Gabba and reinforced the 25-year-old’s standing as one of the most exciting batsmen in world cricket. Babar’s careless dismissal in the first innings hurt his team’s chances but he responded with an eye-catching century, his second in Tests, kissing the grass after reaching the milestone in mid-afternoon.
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