Former leg-spinner Stuart MacGill is mighty impressed by the great Australian escape on Day 5 of the first Test against Pakistan at Dubai and says it could well end up being a "landmark moment" for the Tim Paine led side and can have a "great impact on Australian Test cricket moving forward."
Chasing the impregnable target in the final innings on a turning pitch, the Australian batting line-up put their heads down and focussed hard on their defense versus the likes of Yasir Shah and Bilal Asif.
That is how Usman Khawaja scored his first Test hundred in Asia and amassed an outstanding knock of 141. The effort was followed by Travis Head (72) and the admirable leader Paine himself, who stayed till the end for his solid knock of 61 to save the Test match.
“A finish like that is everything that you want from a Test match,” McGill, who picked up 208 Test wickets for Australia, was quoted saying on foxsports.com.au, “It’s not unbelievable, it’s surprising that a development team — which is what this is, or a team in flux — has the temperament to compete all the way to the end."
“But I’ve always been a big fan of a draw. I think that a draw can change a series," he further added, “I look at Faf’s first Test match at Adelaide. His slowest ever day hundred won the series for his team," and signed off.
The second Test at Abu Dhabi begins October 16.