Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh missed out on his second hundred of the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday after getting out on 96 on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.
Marsh was in the middle of a 153-run partnership for the fifth wicket with vice-captain Steve Smith when he edged a delivery from Mir Hamza to Agha Salman in second slip.
Salman flew to his right and stuck out a hand to catch the ball just inches off the ground. Thousands of spectators inside the MCG fell silent as the Pakistanis rejoiced the wicket.
The Marsh family, including Mitch's elder brother and former Australia cricketer Shaun Marsh, were left dejected in the stands as they watched the right-hander go back to the dressing room just 4 short of his fourth Test hundred.
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Marsh falls again in the nervous 90s
Mitch had also missed out on a century in the series opener in Perth where he was dismissed for 90 in the first innings.
He scored another fifty in the second innings to help the Aussies win by 360 runs at the Optus Stadium and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Marsh and Smith bailed Australia out in Melbourne after they were reduced to 16 for 4 by Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mir Hamza in the second session.
Smith then took up the responsibility of the scoring after Marsh got out. The former skipper brought up his first fifty of the series and 40th in Tests but couldn't convert it into a big score, getting out for 50 to a Shaheen Afridi bouncer on the final over of the day.
Australia went into stumps at 187 for 6 in 62.3 overs with a lead of 241 runs over Pakistan, who were bowled out for 264 in their first innings in reply to the home side's 318.
Pakistan staring down the barrel
Pakistan will have an uphill task when they come out to bat in the final innings.
They are already staring at a lead which is substantial and with the kind of batting form the visitors have shown in the series so far, it looks highly unlikely that they will be able to chase down whatever target they end up getting from the Aussies.
Shan Masood's team hasn't managed to cross the 300-run mark yet with 271 being their highest total in the series so far.
