Nathan Lyon got his 500th Test wicket on Sunday, as Australia defeated a rattled Pakistan by 89 runs in the first Test at Perth.
Pakistan’s remarkable bid to win their first Test in Australia since 1995 was shattered by the spin king and the home side’s potent speed attack, who finished the game in four days.
With 450 points on the line, the visitors surrendered meekly, with Lyon taking 2-18. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both took three wickets.
Lyon finally hit the milestone after being left stranded on 499 after Pakistan’s first innings when he trapped Faheem Ashraf lbw, but there was an agonising wait as it went to review.
In the same over, he bowled Aamer Jamal, entering an elite company of only seven other players, including fellow spinners Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and Shane Warne of Australia.
On day four, Australia declared at 233-5 after Pakistan was bowled for 271 in their first innings, in response to the hosts’ 487.
After opener Usman Khawaja was out for a brave 90 on a deteriorating pitch after a 126-run stand with Mitchell Marsh, skipper Pat Cummins made the decision.
Marsh was unbroken on 63 after Pakistan dismissed Steve Smith and Travis Head early in the day to give themselves hope, which rapidly faded.
They got off to a bad start, with Abdullah Shafique out for two in the first over, nicking an unplayable Starc ball to Alex Carey behind the stumps.
Shan Masood, in his debut Test as captain, did not last long, edging to Carey off Hazlewood to leave his team in trouble at 17-2.
Starc also took care of Imam-ul-Haq, trapping him lbw for ten before Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel put up a fight.
But that fell apart when Azam edged Cummins on 14, with Carey collecting once more.
Sarfaraz Ahmed lasted only six balls after returning from tea before being caught by Marsh at gully off Starc, while Agha Salman was run out needlessly.
Lyon then worked his magic on the tail before Hazlewood tidied it up.
Australia started at 84-2, with Khawaja on 34 and Smith on 43.
The going was tough at first, with fissures emerging in the pitch and Pakistan’s fast bowlers thumping the bat and generating trouble.
Khurram Shahzad, making his debut, got a breakthrough in the fourth over of the day, trapping Smith lbw for 45 with a nipped back ball.
Enter Travis Head, who signaled his determination with a straight drive boundary off the second ball he encountered.
But he lived dangerously, and a wayward drive off Aamer Jamal went straight to Haq at cover, resulting in a 14-run out.
Marsh and Khawaja both survived reviews during the same eventful Jamal over as Pakistan increased the pressure.
Marsh blasted sixes off Jamal and spinner Salman to keep the scoreboard ticking over before a spectacular escape on 23 when Masood lost a sitter at mid-off.
Khawaja, on the other hand, kept going to make his 25th Test half-century off 151 balls, speeding once he reached the mark.
Marsh hit a massive smash off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s bowling after lunch to bring up his second 50 of the match.
Khawaja raced to 90 with some daring boundaries until his luck ran out going for another huge shot and he was caught by Azam off Afridi, resulting in the declaration.
They will now travel to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test before concluding the series in Sydney.