AUS vs PAK: Test series – Top five performers

Australia might have won all three Tests they played against Pakistan but it wasn’t all one-way traffic in the series between the two giants of world cricket. The first Test in Perth was comprehensively won by the hosts but Pakistan managed to bounce back strongly and gave the World Test champions a run for their money in the subsequent Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. In this article, we take a look at the top 5 performers from the series:

5. Mohammad Rizwan

The experienced wicketkeeper-batter had to sit out in the first Test as Pakistan opted to go in with Sarfaraz Ahmed. In the second Test, Rizwan was named in the playing XI and he showed good grit and determination in both innings. In the first innings of the third Test, Rizwan played aggressively to score 88 off 103 balls, helping the visitors recover from 96/5. He finished with 193 runs from four innings, having an average of 48.25. No other Pakistani batter scored more runs than him in the three-match series.

4. David Warner

The diminutive cricketer had announced last year that this would be his last Test assignment for Australia. He was the only centurion in the series, scoring a majestic 164 off 211 balls in the first innings of the first Test. In his last Test innings, Warner scored 57 on a difficult Sydney track. The 37-year-old finished as the second-highest run-getter in the series, scoring 299 runs in six innings, at an average of 49.83.

3. Mitchell Marsh

The Aussie all-rounder scored the most number of runs in the series. In five innings, he amassed 344 runs, at an average of 86. Out of the five innings he played, Marsh notched up half-centuries in four of them. He also chipped in with two wickets with the ball.

2. Aamer Jamal

The 27-year-old made his Test debut in the first Test in Perth and made an instant impression. He picked up a six-for in the first innings of his debut Test. He also bagged a six-for in the first innings of the Sydney Test. Jamal finished with 18 wickets in three games, averaging 20.44 and having a strike rate of 29.94.

1. Pat Cummins

The Aussie captain led from the front in the series. He finished as the highest wicket-taker, bagging 19 wickets in three games, at an average of 12 and a strike rate of 28.11. Cummins was fittingly adjudged as the Player of the Series for his outstanding efforts with the ball.