Lunch - Australia 90 for 1 (Warner 38, Khawaja 36*, Salman 1-2) vs Pakistan
(Web Desk) – Australia opener David Warner was given an early life after a horrific dropped catch at first slip by Abdullah Shafique, but he fell on the stroke of lunch on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test in a much-needed boost for a new-look Pakistan attack.
For the second straight Test, Pakistan's bowlers failed to fire with the new ball and appeared set for a wicketless session until Warner was caught at slip off spinning all-rounder Agha Salman in the last over before lunch.
Warner and fellow opener Usman Khawaja had negated a tricky pitch up to that point to put Australia on top in the second Test.
After a 360-run pummelling in the first Test on a spicy Optus Stadium surface, Pakistan's hopes of a bounce back rested on early inroads following captain Shan Masood's decision to bowl on a pitch with six-seven millimetres of grass amid overcast conditions.
But Shafique gifted Warner a life in the third over after he badly spilt a chance off spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi. With the surface offering movement, Afridi bowled a gem of a delivery on a length that moved away to catch the edge of a tentative Warner only for Shafique to drop a simple chance that went slowly to his left.
It was a confidence blow for Afridi, who bowled within himself in the series-opener where he had match figures of 2 for 172. He started accurately in his initial five-over burst, but could not consistently bowl in the right areas and struggled for pace in what has been a bane for Afridi for some time.
THE LINE-UP
Pakistan made three changes and opted to again field an all out pace attack with veteran Hasan Ali and left-armer Mir Hamza replacing injured seamer Khurram Shahzad and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, who was dropped. Off-spinner Sajid Khan was overlooked with the MCG in recent Test matches having heavily favoured pace bowling.
Having taken just two wickets in three previous Test matches, Hamza was given the new ball alongside fellow left-armer Afridi as they battled Australia's left-handed openers in a compelling early battle.
Hamza didn't bowl quickly but dangerously nipped the ball both ways, including several menacing late in-swinging yorkers. He and Afridi concentrated almost entirely on bowling full, as they neglected short-pitched deliveries, but were unable to consistently hit a length outside off-stump.
Afridi's frustrations boiled over when the ball slipped out of his hand and flew down the leg side and to the boundary.
In what is his penultimate match in his illustrious Test career, Warner had eyed another formidable knock after his emotionally-charged ton on the opening day in Perth. His only other Test century in the past three years was a double ton in last year's Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
Warner was rattled early, with several rash strokes, and batted well outside the crease to counter Afridi. But he settled after the drinks break as batting became easier and Masood resorted to defensive fields.
Much like the build-up in Perth, Khawaja came into the match under the microscope after the ICC denied his application to display a logo to raise awareness of humanitarian issues.
Khawaja batted fluently and thwarted a returning Hasan, who did produce a couple of edges off Warner but without reward in what was another difficult session for Pakistan who have lost 15 straight Tests in Australia.
All eyes have been on Melbourne's infamously fickle weather after heavy rain lashed the Victorian capital during the past couple of days. But the first session was uninterrupted with the sun even occasionally making it through the thick cloud covering.
But showers and potential thunderstorms are forecast later in the day to threaten to spoil the biggest date in the Australian cricket summer. A crowd of 70,000 fans has been tipped in a figure that would surpass the entire attendance over four days for the rebranded Perth Test.
THE TOSS
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Pakistan made three changes after losing the first Test by 360 runs inside four days on a difficult Optus Stadium surface.
Pakistan overlooked off-spinner Sajid Khan as they again opted for an all out pace attack. Veteran Hasan Ali and left-armer Hamza have been named and will support spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi and Aamer Jamal, who produced a fiery debut in Perth.
Seamer Khurram Shahzad, who impressed on debut with an energetic performance in the first Test, has been ruled out of the tour with a rib fracture while all-rounder Faheem Ashraf was dropped.
Mohammad Rizwan returned as wicketkeeper and replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed, who had been contentiously preferred in Perth.
Pakistan have lost 15 straight Test matches in Australia since 1999, but two of their four victories in the country have been at the MCG.
A full-strength Australia remained unchanged which meant no room for seamer Scott Boland, who averages 13.80 in Test cricket on his home ground of the MCG.
Heavy rain has lashed Melbourne during the past 48 hours with showers and potential thunderstorms forecast in the afternoon on day one. The weather is set to improve as the match progresses.
Despite the gloomy surroundings, a big MCG crowd of 70,000 fans is expected for Boxing Day which is the marquee date in the Australian cricket summer.
Speaking after the toss, Pakistan captain Shan Masood said: "Just having looked at the MCG Tests for the past three years the bowling side has done well. There's been a bit of weather around so we'd just like to avail every opportunity with the ball. We did [think about playing Sajid] but looking at the ground and the T20 World Cup last year, it was seam heavy, and I thought Agha did a decent job in Perth keep one end quite economical so we'll try and do the same."
Australian captain Pat Cummins said: "We were going to have a bowl as well. This year's pitch feels a little bit harder than previous years. There's a bit of grass, a bit of cloud cover but we're not too upset to have a bat."
Squads
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamer Jamal.
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood. - Courtesy ESPNcricinfo