Australia lose Warner, Labuschagne after quick start in second Test

Australia lost key batsmen David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in quick succession on Saturday, reaching 100-2 at lunch on the opening day of the second Test against Pakistan in Karachi.

At the break, opener Usman Khawaja was batting on 52 and Steve Smith on seven after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat on a dry-looking National Stadium pitch.

All-rounder Faheem Ashraf got the ball to nip away slightly, forcing Warner (36) to edge the ball to keeper Mohammad Rizwan after the Australian openers had amassed a solid 82-run stand.

Labuschagne was run out for nought nine deliveries later. The top-ranked batter in Test cricket fell to a direct hit from Sajid Khan while attempting a quick single.

Warner, whose last six innings against Pakistan include four centuries and two fifties, had greeted off-spinner Sajid into the attack with two sixes.

But Ashraf — recalled after missing the first Test due to injury — extracted some life from the pitch to grab the first breakthrough.

Khawaja has so far hit seven boundaries and a six in his 16th Test half-century.

He and Warner put on 63 runs in the first hour as Pakistan’s spin-and-pace attack found little response from the pitch.

Australian leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is making his Test debut, replacing pacer Josh Hazlewood in the lineup, while Pakistan have brought in Hasan Ali and Ashraf.

The first match of the three-Test series ended in a draw in Rawalpindi.