‌Resuming from an overnight score of 16, Alex Carey stood tall in the opening session on Day 4 to register his first half-century in 11 innings. His effort, alongside crucial cameos from the Australian tailenders, took the hosts from 187/6 to 262 and thus set a formidable target of 317 for the visitors.

Things quickly devolved for Pakistan early in the innings as they lost both their openers either side of Lunch to be left reeling at 39/2 before another counterattacking masterclass from Shan Masood helped steady the ship with a 61-run third wicket stand. His knock of 61 off 70 balls was ably aided by Babar Azam's confident 41 but once the latter was undone by a Josh Hazlewood jaffa, things looked bleak again for the Men in Green at 146/4, given the Australians had their tails up. Saud Shakeel followed suit soon after to leave the side needing over 150 still with just five wickets in hand but the pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha Ali answered the call of distress to ignite hopes of a first Test win in Australia since 1995.

However, the 57-run partnership fell victim to a devastating spell from Pat Cummins as the skipper first accounted for Rizwan (35), albeit controversially, before getting rid of Aamer Jamal and Shaheen Afridi for ducks to complete his 10-wicket haul. Amidst all the chaos, Salman's belligerent knock reached the 50-run mark of just 69 balls but a top edge off a Mitchell Starc bouncer in the 68th over effectively sounded the death knell for Pakistan. The left-arm quick wrapped up the 79-run victory on the very next delivery to extend Australia's winning streak in Tests at home against Pakistan to 16 and thereby seal the three-match series 2-0. 

Babar! 😂

Babar Azam funny moment with Steve Smith 😂#PAKvAUS #PAKvsAUS #AUSvsPAK #AUSvPAK #Rizwan #BabarAzam𓃵 pic.twitter.com/ypP1FCQ9k5

— King Babar Azam Fan Army (@KingBabar56Army) December 29, 2023

Correct

Pakistan should be very disappointed with this collapse. They fought well but the end was deflating for their fans. They will look back with dismay at the extras they conceded and the catches they dropped. They bowled well, batted most times with some determination but you need…

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 29, 2023

Dream continues

That's It!!!



Australia Beat Pakistan By 79 Runs At Melbourne" 💔



Dream For Pakistan Continues. pic.twitter.com/sVAU8NFqhr

— Nawaz 🇵🇰 (@Rnawaz31888) December 29, 2023

Classic

Australia win an instant classic!



Well played Pakistan! 🤝🏻 🇵🇰



That’s a game I’ll remember for a long time! 🙌🏻❤️#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/AXNOgKYnsu

— Lachy (@Lachy_Steele) December 29, 2023

Well played

Well played Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/AVJqpxwGv6

— Usama Zafar (@Usama7) December 29, 2023

Dream year

A dream year For PAT CUMMINS, With ball mindset and Captaincy. 🐐#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/1dduDfkCzr

— 🇵🇸 (@TheyCallmeSaiff) December 29, 2023

Superb

What A Catch, That’s why they say ‘CATCHES WIN MATCHES’. You can’t give a 2nd chance to this Australian team and you gave them 4 chances 😡🤬😣 #PakistanCricket #PAKvsAUS #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/cGOmwYqc3M

— A.Hanan Khan (@hanan_khan3) December 29, 2023

True

Winning a test series in Australia is not everyone cup of tea ☕ #AUSvPAK #PAKvsAUS #BoxingDayTest pic.twitter.com/PqqTX9u1Ym

— 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 👑 (@imtheguy07) December 29, 2023

Superb

What a catch from the Bison! The catching has been a key difference between the teams in this match.#AUSvPAK

— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) December 29, 2023

I.N.D.I.A

Only Asian Team to win Test series in Australia... not once but TWICE 💪🏼🇮🇳



Neighbours can stick to trolling while having nothing on the result board.#AUSvPAK

— Jaanvi🏏 (@that_shutterbug) December 29, 2023

The end

That is the end, Pak lost by 79 runs..

Once again came so close yet so far.

Well Played Shan masood, Rizwan, Agha And Babar

Saud ahakeel, Abdullah and Imam failed.

Atleast we didnt lose by an inning#PAKvsAUS |#AUSvsPAK |#AUSvPAK |#PAKvAUS |#BabarAzam𓃵



pic.twitter.com/uXDeAouGLG

— Jalaad 🇵🇰 حمزہ (@SaithHamzamir) December 29, 2023