SHARJAH (UAE), Oct 11: It was slaughter of the innocents as Australia took stranglehold of the second Test at Sharjah Stadium Friday as Pakistan suffered the humiliation of being bundled out for their lowest-ever Test score of 59 in 31.5 overs.

When poor visibility stopped play on the opening day, although lights were switched on, with eight overs still to be bowled Australia had scored 191 for four — a handy lead of 132 with six wickets in hand.

At the crease were opener Matthew Hayden (74) and Damien Martyn (19), who have been involved in an unfinished fifth stand of 43.

Pakistan’s lowest Test score before Friday’s batting shambles was 62 also against the same opposition at Perth in 1981-82. Such was Pakistan’s batting bankruptcy only Abdul Razzaq could reach double figures.

There were no excuses for this batting debacle as the pitch held no terrors and played true and majority of Pakistani batsmen got out due to injudicious strokes and poor technique against an attack that stuck to the basics bowling within the stumps in searing heat.

As in the first innings of the first Test, Pakistan started dreadfully with both openers Imran Nazir and Taufiq Umar departing without troubling the scorers.

Younis Khan and Faisal Iqbal, the two batsmen who batted well in Colombo, as well as the out-of-sorts Misbah-ul-Haq perished without ever threatening the Australian bowlers grip.

Razzaq played couple of sizzling strokes but once again fell to his bogey man Shane Warne to virtually seal the fate of Pakistan’s innings as the tail had no answer to the wily leg-spinner.

Warne finished with remarkable figures of four for 11 off 11 overs.

Australia’s three pacers Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Andy Bichel, who replaced the injured Jason Gillespie, picked up two wickets each to compound Pakistan’s misery.

Australian openers Hayden and Justin Langer were untroubled as they put on 55 before a bizarre run out of the latter gave Pakistan the break. Danish Kaneria, who came in for Mohammad Sami, missed a return catch of Hayden but the ball hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Langer out of crease.

Ricky Ponting and Hayden went on the attack but three wickets in seven balls for three runs checked the Australian march.

First Kaneria trapped Ponting lbw offering no stroke and then Saqlain Mushtaq removed both the Waugh brothers off successive deliveries to mark a miserable day for the Australian captain, playing his 150th Test who was out first ball duck.

Martyn, however, averted the hat trick.

Pakistan could have made Australian work hard for runs if Younis Khan not floored a regulation catch off Hayden off the luckless Saqlain, best of ‘home’ team bowlers for whom Shoaib Akhtar was a big disappointment. The showman even left the field after his second spell but returned late in the day.

A hamstring injury to wicket-keeper Rashid Latif also did not help matters for Pakistan, forcing Taufiq Umar to don the gloves.