'This is pathetic': Pat Cummins called out over 'bizarre' Day 5 act

Fans and commentators were left questioning why Pat Cummins didn't bowl himself more late on the final day of the second Test against Pakistan in Karachi.

The Aussies fell three wickets short of their first-ever Test victory in Karachi as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan played the heroes for Pakistan.

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Babar made a masterful 198, becoming the first captain ever to face over 400 balls in the fourth innings of a Test match.

Rizwan then defied the Aussies late on the final day, making 104 not out and steadying the ship as wickets fell around him.

While Cummins was left fielding questions about his decision not to enforce the follow-on in the first innings, some were asking why he didn't bowl himself more on Wednesday.

The Aussie skipper bowled 26 overs in Pakistan's second innings but gave 55 overs to Nathan Lyon and 54 to debutant leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson.

Lyon justified his high usage with four wickets, however Swepson toiled to no avail and finished with 0-156.

Yet Cummins still threw the rookie spinner the ball late in the day, opting to go with spin at both ends rather than bowl himself or Mitchell Starc - who only got one over with the new ball.

Cummins even gave an over to part-time leggie Marnus Labuschagne with three overs remaining, leaving some questioning the captain's tactics.

“Patrick are you injured? Is our best spin option now injured? Your bowling selections are confusing me and I’m easily confused," tweeted journalist Jelisa Apps.

Reporter Bernie Coen wrote: “Cummins HAS to come on again!!!”

Oliver Peterson wrote: “Great Test match but some of Captain Cummins’ calls with the late new ball quite bizarre. Why didn’t he bowl more? Starc cleans up tails especially with a new rock.”

BBC commentator Nikesh Rughani added: “Brilliant finish to the Test! Babar was outstanding, and Rizwan did his thing as usual.

“Did Pat Cummins maybe bottle it, by not bowling himself towards the end? Either way, a draw was the fair result.”

Pat Cummins defends tactics after Pakistan survive for draw

Speaking after play on Wednesday, Cummins said he wouldn't change his tactics in Australia's almost-Test victory.

"Coming over here in these conditions, at the start of the series if you had said it's going to be nil-all after two games, we would probably take that," Cummins said.

"In terms of the tactics, I think overall I wouldn't change too much, to be honest.

"Batting into day three gave us that chance to really have a crack at them on day three - it probably went better than we expected.

"But over here the wickets are pretty good. We carved up two and a half days of the best time on the wicket hoping that it was going to break up on day four and five."

Rather than running out of time, Australia missed two many chances that should have been taken.

Steve Smith dropped Abdullah Shafique on 20, the opener going on to make 96.

And Usman Khwaja put down a regulation catch from Rizwan with 19 balls left in the game - a wicket that would have made Pakistan been eight down with only tailenders at the crease.

"If we took a couple of those catches it might have been a different scenario," Cummins said.

"I thought we gave ourselves a really good opportunity in this Test match, especially after the first three innings of the game.

"I was really proud and happy about how our team played. In foreign conditions we are showing that we are adapting quite well.

"But, of course, getting so close and not coming out with a result can feel like it's a missed opportunity."

with AAP

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