Australian captain Pat Cummins said he would leave it up to fans and commentators to pass the verdict on the dead wicket, which saw his team’s first Test in Pakistan at the end of nearly a quarter century in a similar draw in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
“I think players always want a fair fight between bat and ball, and that’s when I think Test cricket is at its best and most rewarding,” the diplomat Cummins said when asked about a pitch in which There were 1,187 runs for just 14 for five. Day.
Read also: Imam hits second century, Rawalpindi run-feast ends in draw
“It’s up to the fans and you guys (media) to watch it from outside and judge the spectacle.”
When the match ended without any result, Pakistan had scored 252 runs in their second innings without any loss. In response to Pakistan’s declared first innings score of 476.4, Australia scored 459 runs.
Cummins later said, “Turning to pitch – maybe not a traditional pitch – you come here in Rawalpindi and come up with a draw, it’s not a bad result.”
It was Australia’s first Test on Pakistani soil since 1998, having previously refused to travel for security reasons.
Ahead of the second Test in Karachi starting on Saturday, Pakistan’s openers assured of a draw.
The final day was dominated by Pakistan’s openers, with Imam-ul-Haq scoring his second century of the match and Abdullah Shafiq scoring his first.
Haque scored an unbeaten 111 in his first innings with 157 runs, while Shafiq scored 136 runs.
In doing so, they teamed up for 105 runs on Friday to become the first Pakistani pair to score centuries in both innings of a Test against Australia.
Shafiq was the first player to reach his century, completing seamer Cameron Green in 209 minutes for a single. He hit a total of 15 fours and a six.
record stand
Haque, playing his first Test since December 2019, pushed part-timer Travis Head for two runs to complete his century in 276 minutes.
His stand for the first wicket against Australia in all Tests is Pakistan’s highest, better than the 249 runs set by Khalid Ibadullah and Abdul Qadir in Karachi in 1964.
Such was the dominance of the two openers that it became only the first instance in 51 years that Australia made more than 100 starts in both innings of a Test.
England’s Geoff Boycott and John Edrich were the last pair to achieve the feat against Australia in Adelaide in 1971.
The famous Australian pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – with 674 Test wickets between them before this match – found just one more on the flat, lifeless surface.
Shafiq said that he is happy to score a century.
“This century will give me confidence and take my career forward,” he said.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Nauman Ali bowled a long line and length to clear the Australian tail and finished with career-best figures of 6-107 in 38.1 overs – his third five-wicket haul in eight Tests.
His effort enabled Pakistan to grab the last three wickets adding only 10 runs after Australia resumed at 449-7.
Nauman – whose previous best of 5-35 came on his debut against South Africa in Karachi last year – dismissed Australian captain Pat Cummins for eight and Nathan Lyon for three.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Starc with figures of 2-88 in 30 overs.
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