Australia pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc ran through Pakistan’s batting order in the third and deciding Test in Lahore on Wednesday.
The hosts were bowled out for 268 to give Australia a shot at a series victory.
At stumps on day three, Australia were 11-0 in their second innings with Usman Khawaja on seven and David Warner four.
Cummins finished with 5-56 and Starc bagged 4-33 to trigger an afternoon collapse during which the home team lost their last six wickets off 40 balls with the addition of just 12 runs.
Australia were only able to add 11 to a comfortable 123-run first-innings lead as play ended seven overs early due to bad light.
The series is Australia’s first in Pakistan for 24 years with security fears scuppering possible tours, but the contest has been marred by flat pitches.
The first two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi ended in high-scoring draws.
Pakistan looked well placed on 227-3 at tea – having lost just Abdullah Shafique (81) and Azhar Ali (78) in the first two sessions – but Starc and Cummins wreaked havoc with the second new ball.
Starc removed Fawad Alam (13) and Mohammad Rizwan (one) while Cummins bowled Sajid Khan (six) as Pakistan collapsed to 264-6.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam fought a lone battle, scoring 67 runs that included seven boundaries and a six, but wickets tumbled around him with the last four dropping with the addition of a single run.
Starc trapped Azam lbw while Cummins polished the remaining tail.
The collapse allowed Australia to cover up their sloppiness in the field after Steve Smith dropped Azam when he was batting on 20.
Pakistan came out to bat on the third day at 90-1 and reached 159 at lunch without losing any more wickets, but in the second session Shafique and Azhar returned to the dressing room in the space of 44 runs.
Lyon got rid of in-form Shafique in the fifth over after lunch when he forced an edge to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. Umpire Aleem Dar did not raise the finger but a review by Cummins proved successful.
Shafique, who hit a century in the first Test in Rawalpindi, batted for 323 minutes, hitting 11 boundaries.
Earlier in the day, Azhar reached a landmark 7,000 runs in his 94th Test.
The former captain, who put on an invaluable 150-run stand for the second wicket with Shafique, became the 54th batsman and fifth from Pakistan to reach the milestone in Test cricket.
Australia took the second new ball after 80 overs with the total on 191-2 and, seven overs later, Cummins held on to a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to dismiss Azhar.
Azhar batted for 337 minutes, hitting seven boundaries and a six in his 35th Test half-century.
Australia toiled hard in the morning session and could have had some reward in the last over before lunch when Azhar, on 62, edged leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, but Smith failed to hold on to the sharp chance at slip.
© Agence France-Presse
