This was Pakistan's 17th tour of Australia, with their previous tour occurring in2009–10. During that tour they lost both the Test and the ODI series in a clean sweep and also lost the only T20I match.[7] The last time that these teams met was2014–15 in the United Arab Emirates where Pakistan won the Test series 2–0 but Australia won the ODI series 3–0.[8] The Australians come into this Test series after recently losing their previous two series –against Sri Lanka abroad[9] and toSouth Africa at home.[10] They enter the ODI series after a 4–1 series victoryagainst Sri Lanka,[11] a 9 wicket winover Ireland[12] and a 5–0 series defeataway to South Africa – the first time that Australia had lost all five matches in a five-match ODI series.[13] However, immediately prior to this series, Australia won back theChappell–Hadlee Trophy, defeatingNew Zealand in a 3–0 whitewash.[14]
Australia won the Test series 3–0. Their victory in the third Test was their 12th consecutive win against Pakistan in Tests in Australia.[15] Australia won the ODI series 4–1.[16]
Pakistan's 450 is their highest ever fourth innings total, the highest fourth innings total set at the Gabba and the fourth highest set overall in Tests.[31]
Asad Shafiq's (Pak) 137 is the highest individual score in the fourth innings of a Test at the Gabba.[31]
Shafiq scored his ninth Test century batting at number six, the most by any player batting in that position.[32]
Tea was taken early on day 1, with no play in the final session due to rain.[33] Lunch was taken early on day 2, with no play in the middle session due to rain. Further rain caused play to cease at 5:15 pm. Rain delayed the start of play on day 3 until 10:35 am. Tea was taken early on day 4, with no play in the final session due to rain.
Azhar Ali (Pak) scored his 1,000th Test run in 2016.[34]
Azhar Ali's first innings score of 205not out is highest Test score by a Pakistani player in Australia[35] and the second highest Test score by a visiting player at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[35]
The partnership of 118 runs between Ali andSohail Khan (Pak) is the highest 8th wicket partnership against Australia.[35]
Australia's first innings total of 624 is the highest Test innings score at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[36]
This was Pakistan's first victory in any format against Australia in Australia sinceJanuary 2005 and ended their longest losing streak in ODIs against any host nation.[49][50]
Babar Azam (Pak) became the joint-fastest player to score 1,000 runs in ODIs and the fastest for Pakistan in his 21st innings,[52] later broke by his team-mate in 2018,Fakhar Zaman, who achieved the feat in his 18th innings.[53]
Steve Smith (Aus) scored his 3,000th ODI run, becoming the quickest Australian to reach the milestone in his 79th innings.[54]
Their openers came out with an aggressive mindset, looking to capitalize on the powerplay.Usman Khan was the star of the opening overs, hammering boundaries all over the park.Australia[57] Won by 13 Runs
In 2016–17, the Pakistan cricket team toured Australia, playing three Test matches and five One-Day Internationals (ODIs). It was a challenging series forPakistan[58] in which Australia won the Test series 3-0 and the ODI series 4-1. Pakistan's players struggled on Australia's fast pitches, although there were some standout performances, such as Azhar Ali and Sharjeel Khan's brilliant batting.
Australia[17]
Pakistan[18]