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Pakistan debutant Saim Ayub dropped an easy catch on day 2 of the 3rd Test against Australia, garnering attention for all the wrong reasons. His drop helped legendary Australian batter David Warner with a lifeline in the final Test match of his career. After leading the three-match Test series 2-0, Australia, under Pat Cummins, hosted Shan Masood’s Pakistan in the third and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). On day 2 of the match, Pakistan once again caught headlines due to their poor fielding, courtesy of debutant Saim Ayub’s drop.
The incident took place on the second ball of the 14th over when Warner was batting on just 20 runs. He found a thick outside edge which went straight to Ayub, who ended up dropping a dolly. Meanwhile, Babar, standing at the second slip, was frustrated and was seen crouching in disappointment. The reaction of the former Pakistan skipper went viral all-over social media in no time.
It wasn’t the first time that Warner received a lifeline in the series, and he was similarly dropped by Abdullah Shafique in the first innings. However, Warner, who is Australia’s second-leading run-getter, failed to capitalise the opportunity and walked back to the hut after scoring just 34 runs off 68 deliveries. Warner was sent back to the pavilion by all-rounder Agha Salman as Babar completed the catch.
Before walking back, Warner hit four boundaries and built a partnership of 70 runs for the first wicket with Usman Khawaja. On Day 1, Pakistan bounced back from 227 on 9 to post a total of 313 runs on the board.
