Australia vs Pakistan, 2nd Test Stats: Records tumble at MCG on day five

Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Test series against Pakistan following some aggressive batting and a familiar Pakistan collapse on day five of the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Having begun the day with a slender lead and draw being the most likely result, Australia pulled a rabbit out of the hat to take victory.

On the back of Steve Smith’s highest score of the calendar year and a fifty from Mitchell Starc, Australia posted 624/6 before declaring with a lead of 181 runs. Still, Pakistan only had to bat just over two sessions to save the Test but a collapse, triggered by Nathan Lyon, who came in for criticism from Steve Smith and finished off by Starc meant Australia won by an innings and 18 runs.

Extra Cover: Don't know if Nathan Lyon will be picked for third Test says Steve Smith

Here are some interesting statistical highlights from day five of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan:

0 – No player has faced more balls in Tests in 2016 than Azhar Ali. Over the course of his 43 in the second innings, which lasted 112 balls, he overtook Jonny Bairstow and ends the year having faced 2,569 balls in Tests, ahead of Bairstow’s 2,525.

1 – Steve Smith is the first batsman in the history of Tests to have played at least 90 innings and have an average above 60. He currently averages 60.63 and Don Bradman, who has the best Test average only played 80 innings and Herbert Sutcliffe averages 60.73 but over 84 innings.

2 – This is only the second time that Pakistan have lost five Tests in a row. The last time was in 1999/00.

2 – This was only the second time that a team has declared in the first innings of a Test and lost by an innings. The last time this happened was when Australia declared on 237/9 against India in 2013.

3 – Steve Smith has now scored at least 1000 Test runs in each of the last three years. He joins Brian Lara, Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen and only Matthew Hayden who scored more than 1,000 Test runs in five consecutive years has done it more often.

4 – In his last three Boxing Day Tests, Steve Smith has four fifty plus scores, including three centuries. He scored 192 and 14 against India in 2014, managed more than fifty in both innings against West Indies last year when he scored 134* and 70*. In this Test, he finished with 165*.

5 – This was only the fifth time that a team has posted more than 400 in the first innings of a Test and lost by an innings. It has happened thrice this year, all in December.

5 – Azhar Ali finishes 2016 at No.5 on the list of most Test runs. In 11 Tests, he has scored 1,198 runs at an average of 63.05 with three centuries and four fifties.

7 – Mitchell Starc’s 84 in the first innings consisted of seven sixes, which is the most by any batsman in a Test innings at the MCG. Andrew Symonds with 6 and Virender Sehwag with 5 sixes complete the top three in the list of most sixes in an innings.

11 – Pakistan have now lost their last 11 Tests in Australia.

127.60 – Among players who have scored at least 500 Test runs at the MCG, Steve Smith’s average of 127.60 is the second-best. Only Don Bradman, who scored 1,671 in 11 matches at an average of 128.53 with 9 centuries has a better average.

248 – Azhar Ali’s tally of 248 runs in the Test is the second-best by a visiting batsman at the MCG. Only Herbert Sutcliffe who scored a century in both innings and finished with 303 runs has more at the MCG in a Test by a visiting batsman.

624 – Australia's total of 624/8 was the highest Test score by any team at the ground but was also their best Test total against Pakistan