Former Australian opener Simon Katich made an interesting prediction about Abdullah Shafique during day two of the ongoing Perth Test between Australia and Pakistan.
Speaking on commentary at Channel 7, Katich praised Shafique, forecasting that he would emerge as a superior batter compared to former Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
"He’s a good young player, he’s had a good start to his Test career. What I like about him the most is that he’s aggressive against spin. We have already seen him today hit Nathan Lyon straight over his head, so I like the look of him,” Katich said.
“I think he’s going to be a better player than Babar Azam," he predicted.
Pakistan openers survived the opening bowling blitz by Australia on day two. Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq were firm in their defence until Nathan Lyon removed Abdullah who was looking good at 42.
At the time of writing, Pakistan were 118/1 in 47 overs. Imam is on 32 while Shan Masood is batting at 29.
Earlier, Australia were dismissed for 487 in their first inning as pacer Aamer Jamal, who is making his debut, claimed a six-wicket haul for Pakistan.
Jamal was on song as he claimed four out of five wickets that fell on the second day during Australia's batting. The right-armer finished with figures of 6 for 111.
The other debutant for Pakistan, Khurram Shahzad, claimed two wickets. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf bagged one each.
David Warner top-scored for the hosts with 164 runs, meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh scored a quick-fire 90 runs.
Lineups
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad
