Pakistan vs Australia, 3rd Test: After losing both openers on duck, Pakistan’s shaky inning against Australia was becoming worse as skipper Pat Cummins was delivering a blistering spell at Sydney Cricket Ground. The hopes of Pakistan’s comeback were looking bleak as one by one, the team lost some of its finest batters. But, the energy of the field transformed as tail-end batter Aamer Jamal came to the crease to play on number 9.
Starting slow, Aamer Jamal displayed nervousness of a tail-end batter but his intent was clear soon after. Aamer Jamal displayed courage as he took the fiery bouncers head-on and started sending balls out of the stadium. Initial good shots provided a confidence boost to the batter and Australia couldn’t process the developments.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Strac, the names are enough to shiver the best batters of the world, but not Aamer Jamal, as he kept up the deadly face on and smashed shots left, right, and center. The panic in the Australian camp was visible as the team deployed 5 fielders on the boundary and that’s what took the world champions to dismiss Aamer Jamal.
His 82-run innings was enough to take Pakistan to a comfortable score of 313 runs and it also made him the highest Pakistan scorer at number 9 in Australia. In the realm of Test cricket, Jamal’s impressive innings stand as the third-highest score achieved by a Pakistani No. 9 batsman. The record-holder for this position remains Asif Iqbal, who recorded a century (146 runs off 244 balls) against England at The Oval in 1967.
‘Means the world to me’
In a post-match interaction, Aamer Jamal revealed how important this innings was for him. The player shared that he focused as much as possible on cricket and avoided going out to any beaches or restaurants during his time in Australia.
“It means a lot, it means the world to me. The last time I came to Sydney I was sitting in the chairs cheering (for) my team because I wasn’t playing for Pakistan. So it’s a huge moment for me and for my family as well. It was lovely to watch everyone on their feet when I was walking off,” Jamal was quoted by cricket.com.au as saying.
“To be very honest, I couldn’t even go outside. I was just focusing on my cricket. I have never been to any beaches or any restaurants, just tried to focus as much as I could on the cricket, all my intentions and everything,” he added.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More
Less
Published: 04 Jan 2024, 03:41 PM IST