WATCH: Pat Cummins' Brilliance to Get Rid of Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam on Day 2 at MCG

Australia captain Pat Cummins produced brilliance against Pakistan on Day 2 of the second Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cummins once again led the team from the front and took the crucial wickets of Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam to put Pakistan on the back.

Shafique became the first victim as Cummins broke the crucial partnership between the PAK opener and skipper Shan Masood. The paceman took a sensational catch on follow-through to get rid of Shafique who was looking solid with a 62-run knock. Cummins had only 0.62 seconds to grab the catch and he made it happen.

In his next over, Cummins got the massive wicket of Pakistan star batter Babar Azam with an absolute peach of a delivery. The ball nipped back in and breached Babar’s defence as it went through the gap between bat and pads to hit the top of the off-stump.

Cummins said his catch to remove Shafique was a stroke of luck.

“Off the bat, they are pretty hard to pick up. They either stick or they don’t,” Cummins said. “Luckily that one stuck, I think in the other hand to what I thought it was going to go in. It was a satisfying wicket. He was playing well.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan started strongly then collapsed to reach 194-6 at stumps in reply to Australia’s first-innings total of 318 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

A total of 13 wickets fell in an eventful second day’s play.

Cummins claimed 3-37 and off-spinner Nathan Lyon took 2-48 for Australia. Abdullah Shafique (62) and skipper Shan Masood (54) both made half-centuries, sharing a 90-run partnership for Pakistan’s second wicket.

Meanwhile, Shafique said he hoped the seventh-wicket partnership between Rizwan and Aamir Jamal, which stands at 24, would allow Pakistan to recover momentum.

The opening batter added that Pakistan’s bowlers had done well to restrict Australia to 318.

“The thing that we are lacking with the batting is the partnerships,” Shafique said. “We are pretty much in the game now. As a bowling unit, we have done a good job.”