Peter Siddle understands that it’s Advantage Pakistan in the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi, but expects the Australian batsmen to fight it out.
As things stand, Australia are 47/1 in a chase of 538, with Shaun Marsh out and no clear word on whether Usman Khawaja, the centurion from the first Test, will be able to bat. Khawaja hurt his left knee while training before play on Thursday’s third day.
“Disappointing for him, but he’s getting a scan later tonight and they’ll send it to the people who need to have a look at it in the next day or so and we’ll find out more. At this stage that’s all we know. Just fingers crossed for him, hopefully it comes back positive for him and he can get back out there,” said Siddle after the day’s play.
“It’s just about being patient, isn’t it? I think that’s the big thing. We know when we have those collapses, that we are not at our best, but it does come down to patience,” said Siddle. “We’ve got to do that again. The boys started very well, and it was disappointing to lose a wicket, but the two out there [Aaron Finch and Travis Head] showed a bit of patience, watched the ball hard, and you can still score runs on the way.
“So it’s just about sticking to our guns tomorrow and seeing where we go. There still a lot of cricket left to be played. It’s going to have to be something special, but there’s enough fight in this team to be able to dig in and give ourselves a chance.”
