Pakistan openers score tons against Australia as Test ends in a draw

Rawalpindi : Pakistan openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique scored unbeaten centuries as Pakistan scored 252 without losing any wicket on the fifth and final day of the first Test match being played here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Resuming the fifth and final day at 449/7, Australia could only add 10 runs to their overnight score and lost three wickets as left-arm orthodox spinner Nauman Ali took two wickets in the day taking his tally to six wickets in the innings.

Australia scored 459/10 in their first innings trailing hosts by 17 runs. Pakistan batters once again batted brilliantly as openers Imam-Ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique looked in control on a batting-friendly wicket. Imam-Ul-Haq who scored 157 runs in the first innings once again looked in great touch.

Abdullah Shafique also gave him company at the other end as he did in the first innings. Both the openers took the team’s score to 50 in just 11.2 overs. The Australian bowlers had no success as hosts went into lunch with 76 runs on the board.

Post lunch session too both the openers looked unperturbed taking the team’s total to a triple-figure mark in 34.4 overs and in-process Imam-ul-Haq scored his fifty.

The duo of Imam and Shafique made the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Travis Head look ordinary. Abdullah Shafique too brought up his half-century before going into drinks break.

Pakistan’s score was 191 for no loss going into Tea. Shafique who failed to convert his start into a big score in the first innings ensured that he notched up a century in the second innings. In the post Tea session, the duo took the team’s total beyond the 200-run mark. Imam too went on to score a century and became the tenth Pakistani batter to score a ton in both the innings joining greats like Hanif Mohammad, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf.

Australia used as many as nine bowlers but failed to take even a single wicket as the Pakistan team scored 252 for no loss and the match ended in a tame draw with Abdullah Shafique scoring an unbeaten 136 and Imam-ul-Haq scoring an unbeaten 111. Imam also bagged the ‘Player of the Match’ award for scoring tons in both the innings of the Test match. Both the teams earned four points each in the ICC World Test Championship table for playing out a draw.

Brief scores: Pakistan 476/4 Decl & 252/0 (Imam-ul-Haq 111*, Abdullah Shafique 136*; Usman Khawaja 0/3) & Australia 459/10.