“Babar Azam was never the problem” – Fans react as Australia beat Pakistan by 360 runs in 1st Test

Australia beat Pakistan by 360 runs in the first Test in Perth on Sunday, December 17. The result transpired after the visitors were bundled out for just 89 runs in the fourth inning while chasing 450 on Day 4. With the win, Pat Cummins and Co. have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Shan Masood-led side. It was Pakistan’s sixth loss at the venue (a stadium where they have never won a Test match).

Batting first, Australia piled up 487 in the first innings, courtesy of David Warner’s 164 and Mitchell Marsh’s 90. Debutante Aamer Jamal starred with the ball for the visitors, bagging six wickets to kick-start his Test career.

In response, the visitors were bundled out for 271 in their first innings. Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique chipped in with scores of 62 and 42, respectively. Nathan Lyon bagged three wickets for the hosts, while Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins settled for two wickets apiece.

The Aussies then declared their second innings at 233/5, thanks to Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh, who scored 90 and unbeaten 63, respectively. Meanwhile, debutante Khurram Shehzad scalped three wickets for the visitors.

Pakistan, however, were skittled out for 89 in 30.2 overs on the penultimate day. Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood picked up three wickets apiece, while Nathan Lyon bagged two scalps to complete 500 Test wickets.

Fans on X trolled Pakistan for their below-par performance in the opening Test. One user wrote:

"They must've got the lesson that "Babar Azam was never the problem." Who's responsible for this humiliation?"

Here are some more reactions:

Shan Masood reacts to Pakistan’s loss vs Australia

Pakistan captain Shan Masood believes that the batting unit failed to deliver allowing Australia to consolidate their dominance and eventually set a 400+ target for the visitors. He, however, lauded debutants Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shehzad for their exploits with the ball.

Masood said at the post-match show:

“Look when you come to these shores, you look for progress. If you had told us that Australia will play 110 overs and we'll play 100, I'd have taken that. We could have scored quicker and 60-70 runs would have proved the difference in maybe keeping that lead to a sizeable level.”

He added:

“Discipline is something we would take from the Australian attack. We took 15 wickets and need to aim for 20. It's never easy when you have two debutants in a four-seam attack."

"They have the first-class record, and they had a lot of overs under their belt. Aamer’s pace was decent and Khurram’s accuracy was good. We'll take the positives and they did decently well.”

The two teams will next lock horns in the second Test in Melbourne, which starts on December 26 (Boxing Day Test).