Lunch Australia 90 for 1 (Warner 38, Khawaja 36*,Salman 1-2) vs Pakistan

For the second straight Test, Pakistan's bowlers failed to fire with the new ball and appeared set for a wicketless session until Warner was caught at slip off spinning allrounder Agha Salman in the last over before lunch.

After a 360-run pummelling in the first Test on a spicy Optus Stadium surface, Pakistan's hopes of a bounce back rested on early inroads following captain Shan Masood's decision to bowl on a pitch with six-seven millimetres of grass amid overcast conditions.

But Shafique gifted Warner a life in the third over after he badly spilt a chance off spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi. With the surface offering movement, Afridi bowled a gem of a delivery on a length that moved away to catch the edge of a tentative Warner only for Shafique to drop a simple chance that went slowly to his left.

It was a confidence blow for Afridi, who bowled within himself in the series-opener where he had match figures of 2 for 172. He started accurately in his initial five-over burst, but could not consistently bowl in the right areas and struggled for pace in what has been a bane for Afridi for some time.

Pakistan made three changes and opted to again field an all out pace attack with veteran Hasan Ali and left-armer Mir Hamza replacing injured seamer Khurram Shahzad and allrounder Faheem Ashraf, who was dropped. Offspinner Sajid Khan was overlooked with the MCG in recent Test matches having heavily favoured pace bowling.

Having taken just two wickets in three previous Test matches, Hamza was given the new ball alongside fellow left-armer Afridi as they battled Australia's left-handed openers in a compelling early battle.

Hamza didn't bowl quickly but dangerously nipped the ball both ways, including several menacing late in-swinging yorkers. He and Afridi concentrated almost entirely on bowling full, as they neglected short-pitched deliveries, but were unable to consistently hit a length outside off-stump.

Afridi's frustrations boiled over when the ball slipped out of his hand and flew down the leg side and to the boundary.

In what is his penultimate match in his illustrious Test career, Warner had eyed another formidable knock after his emotionally-charged ton on the opening day in Perth. His only other Test century in the past three years was a double ton in last year's Boxing Day Test against South Africa.

Warner was rattled early, with several rash strokes, and batted well outside the crease to counter Afridi. But he settled after the drinks break as batting became easier and Masood resorted to defensive fields.

Much like the build-up in Perth, Khawaja came into the match under the microscope after the ICC denied his application to display a logo to raise awareness of humanitarian issues.

Khawaja batted fluently and thwarted a returning Hasan, who did produce a couple of edges off Warner but without reward in what was another difficult session for Pakistan who have lost 15 straight Tests in Australia.

All eyes have been on Melbourne's infamously fickle weather after heavy rain lashed the Victorian capital during the past couple of days. But the first session was uninterrupted with the sun even occasionally making it through the thick cloud covering.

But showers and potential thunderstorms are forecast later in the day to threaten to spoil the biggest date in the Australian cricket summer. A crowd of 70,000 fans has been tipped in a figure that would surpass the entire attendance over four days for the rebranded Perth Test.