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Well after watching the last session of Day 4 I am wondering how the hell Australia can get 8 wickets tomorrow to win the test. Babar was in complete control and the other young guy batted really well too.
The ball was not reversing a great deal, the pitch was flat and the bowling was unthreatening. Starc, Cummins and Green all bowled tightly but there were very few alarms for the Pakistan Batsmen. Swepson tried varying his lines and bowled around the wicket for s while and at least looked like he might break through, Lyon was very innocuous and was played easily by Babar and Shafique. In the last session it just looked like he was trying to contain and didnt come remotely close to taking a wicket. 
I thought Cummins could have chucked the ball to one of the part timers late in the day just to see if they could break the batsmens concentration but overall the batting was just too good.
Australia will have to make the new ball count and take a wicket or two in the first hour tomorrow. If they can get Babar out early it might put a different perspective on the game as he is the one who is capable of batting through 2 days
Its a real long shot but if Pakistan were say 4 -350 at tea tomorrow I wonder if they would have a crack at the target. The bowlers would be weary by this stage and there may be an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

New day, new beginning  I guess mikeh.....Smith dropping that dolly hurt big time. If taken, should of been taken, Pakistan would of been 3 down for under 60, with a guy on a pair coming in next. Kudos to Pakistan for digging in, still a big ask to bat out the 5th day.....Australia  as you say needs early wickets, Babar especially.

Can't see Pakistam winning, they just don't score fast enough, Aust just needs to stay positive, 8 deliveries is all that is needed, couple of shors went precariously close to fielders yesterday, on another day they would of gone straight to the fielder........sets up a fascinating days cricket, still Australia's test to win......be good if the skipper stood up and took a 5 for to win the game, shut up all those JL supporters, who sadly want Aust to lose and for Aust cricket to go backwards all because JL got treated badly.....yeah we get it JL got stabbed in the back....

Big test for Cummins Captaincy coming up today.....for mine he has looked very uninspiring and just a Steve Smith/Ronald McDonald clone!

As for Lyon (Gary The Goat) I am not sure why anyone is surprised he hasnt looked dangerous, he rarely does in the 4th innings when spinners are supposed to be at their most dangerous. The Subcontinent boys play him and most off spinners for that matter who have no variety whatsoever with ease. Why we played him yet again I will never know but apparently Cummins, Smith and Ronnie know best.......apparently! 

Freezin wrote:

New day, new beginning  I guess mikeh.....Smith dropping that dolly hurt big time. If taken, should of been taken, Pakistan would of been 3 down for under 60, with a guy on a pair coming in next. Kudos to Pakistan for digging in, still a big ask to bat out the 5th day.....Australia  as you say needs early wickets, Babar especially.

Can't see Pakistam winning, they just don't score fast enough, Aust just needs to stay positive, 8 deliveries is all that is needed, couple of shors went precariously close to fielders yesterday, on another day they would of gone straight to the fielder........sets up a fascinating days cricket, still Australia's test to win......be good if the skipper stood up and took a 5 for to win the game, shut up all those JL supporters, who sadly want Aust to lose and for Aust cricket to go backwards all because JL got treated badly.....yeah we get it JL got stabbed in the back....

That’s pretty harsh freeze.  There’s plenty of us that are pissed at JL’s treatment, but wanting Australia to lose???  You’d have to be disappointed if there are people out there hoping for a Paki win.  But still…
Could be a good day to keep the ear buds tuned in!!

58...not directed at anyone here, just general comments I have read elsewhere on other social media cricket threads....agree disappointing at the way the JL saga was handled....but come end of the day, Aussie fans wanting the Australian cricket to lose because of it, isn't really something a loyal Aussie like JL would ever want....

Bease Yep, they have had trouble as you suggested would happen. What is wrong with enforcing  the 'follow-on'?
We were flattered a bit in Pakistan's first innings, two wickets having fallen to 'run-outs'
Lyon is getting hit down the ground for 'one' every over, even as one batsman has made a double during the tactic. Is this good captaincy?

Went down to the wire, good watching.  But why didn’t the Aussies force the follow on?

credit must go to Pakistan for batting their way out of trouble but Cummins left too many overs and the bowlers looked buggered at the end plus dropped catches didn't help either
Had their chance and it went begging

58shark wrote:

Went down to the wire, good watching.  But why didn’t the Aussies force the follow on?

I think there has been a reluctance to enforce the follow on by Australia since the time in India that Steve Waugh did it and Dravid and Laxman batted all day to set up a famous victory for them. Ultimately 5 and a half sessions should be enough time to bowl out a team in the 2nd innings but you have to give credit to Babar, Shafique and Rizwan who batted wonderfully well. The bowlers did create a number of opportunities that were not taken by the fieldsman culminating in the simple catch that Khawaja dropped which was the final nail in the coffin.
I was a bit surprised at Cummins tactics towards the end of the match in that he took the new ball and yet himself and Starc only bowled one over each in the last 15. Fair enough to use Lyon who had given them a bit of a chance with his wickets but Swepson was pretty cooked by the last hour and the batsmen seemed to be handling him comfortably, Starc has a great record getting 9, 10s and 11s out so surely he would have been worth a few more overs and certainly a better bet than Labuschagne who amazingly bowled 2 out of the last 3 overs.
Given that the next test is only 4 days away, I think they may need some fresh legs in  the 3rd test to carry the load, especially if they lose the toss and find themselves in the field. Depending on the wicket I would probably bring in Hazlewood /Boland and Agar for Starc and Swepson. 
 

Australia created enough chances, but dropped way too many catches to snare the win. Only themselves to blame, yeah people can point the finger at Cummins re not enforcing the follow on, but if those catches were snaffled Pakistan would of lost. Smith dropping the dolly when Pakistan were 2/38 was a killer.....next man in facing a pair, who knows what might of happen.

Onwatd to the next test, the only plus to come out of that game was that Australia know they can bowl Pakistan out for under 200, unlike Pakistan who haven't rolled Australia out in a full innings for under 450....Hazlewood or Boland must come in, Boland preferably  as he has had many a game and wicket on those MCG roads under his belt.

I would even drop Head for Marsh and elevate Green to 5.....Agar for Swepson, who will be cooked after that debut, showed  signs did Swepson that he could be handy test leggie though. Bi of fielding practice wouldn't go astray either.