Australia vs Pakistan 2016, 2nd Test - 5 Talking Points

Not even rain preventing proper play for 3 days could stop Pakistan from handing a win to the Aussies at the MCG on Day 5. A result looked pretty unlikely given the flat nature of the wicket and the huge first innings scores of both teams.

But a fiery fifth day saw Starc and Smith hunt the Pakistani bowlers to all corners of the ground to set up a lead of 181. However, on a belter of a wicket Pakistan were expected to play out the day easily. Instead, they were adamant to produce a result in the Test and lost wickets at regular intervals.

Mitchell Starc then cleaned up the tail as the side from Down Under thrashed the Asian giants by an innings and 18 runs. Credit must go to Steven Smith for planning the fifth day to perfection and despite some tame dismissals, Australian bowlers were right on the money.

Nathan Lyon brought about a middle-order collapse by getting rid of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in the same over. He later dismissed the hero of the first Test, Asad Shafiq to put Pakistan in severe trouble. Starc then cleaned them up to wrap up a fine victory with 15 overs remaining in the day.

Here are the talking points from the 2nd Test at MCG.

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#5 Pakistan stunned by Starc magic

With Australia needing some quick runs in the second innings to set up a declaration, Mitchell Starc toyed with the Pakistani spinners, hoisting seven maximums in a spectacular knock of 84 in just 91 balls.

He was particularly harsh on Yasir Shah slog sweeping the spinner for five of his seven maximums. Steven Smith was plundering runs at the other end but it was Starc who hurried the declaration with his second highest Test score.

He was eventually dismissed by Sohail Khan 16 short of a hundred and 15 short of his highest score in Test cricket, 99. But, by then, he had procured a good lead for Australia. He returned to capture the crucial wickets of Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah to set up the win.

#4 Azhar Ali wages lone battle

Azhar Ali fought valiantly but to no avail

One must feel for the Pakistani opener Azhar Ali who took the whole burden of Pakistan's first innings upon himself. He remained unbeaten on 205 as the Men in Green amassed a superb total of 443 in the first innings.

Under pressure, in the second innings, Ali once again watched his teammates throw away their wickets on a friendly surface for batting. He was the sixth man to be dismissed after a patient 43 off 112 balls and fell to a genuinely good ball from Hazlewood.

Ali has amassed quite a few runs this year, including a triple hundred against Windies and became the first Pakistani batsman to hit a double hundred in Australia.

#3 Misbah's questionable field placements

Misbah had another game to forget

Yasir Shah had a pathetic Test sending down some horribly expensive spells, especially on Day 3. He had the most expensive 10 overs at MCG, conceding 76 in his first 11 overs. It has to be said, however, that he was not the sole one responsible for the carnage.

Misbah had set a unique 6-3 leg-side field for him right from the Gabba. The field neither produced wickets nor restricted the Aussie batsmen who exploited the huge gaps on the off side. Misbah was quick to change the field to 5-4 every time a boundary was scored on the off-side but reverted back to 6-3 time and again. The tactic was bizarre and played a significant role in Australia's huge score.

Yasir improved his economy later in the Test but was far from threatening. He was taken for 5 sixes by Mitchell Starc as Australia stepped on the gas. He had unimpressive figures of 41-2-207-3 and this would certainly go down as one of the worst Tests of his career.

#2 The shaky Pakistan turn up yet again

Pakistan collapsed on day 5 to give Australia a comfortable victory

At The Gabba, Pakistan started out in embarrassing fashion with the bat but went on to give the Aussies a real scare in the fourth innings by coming incredibly close to a mammoth target of 490.

Here at the MCG, with rain spoiling most of the days, a result seemed farfetched. But bizarre tactics from Misbah in the field and some insipid batting in the second innings saw Pakistan succumb ever so meekly to the Aussies.

It was a Christmas-New Year gift for the Australians without a grain of doubt. They would not have expected to win the Test after the multiple rain delays in the first few days but the lacklustre Pakistan turned up and graciously presented the game to the Aussies.

#1 Australia’s highest total at MCG

David Warner got the Aussies off to a flying start

Australian batsmen were in prime form and they dug into the Pakistani attack on a belter of a batting pitch with Warner and Smith notching up huge hundreds. Handscomb, Khawaja and Starc piled on the misery as Australia brought up their highest score ever on the ground.

The 624/8 surpassed their own record of 604 scored in the 1937 Ashes. The score was also Australia's highest against Pakistan crossing the 617 they made at Faridabad in 1979-80.

The Baggy Greens scored their runs at a brisk pace to set up a brilliant declaration that eventually helped them win the Test. They scored at a rate of 5.6 in the first session in day 5 as Starc and Smith pounded the spinners. Starc hit seven sixes, the highest in the stadium by an individual.