After Rawalpindi Test, the Karachi Test ended in a draw as well but this time it ended up being a riveting contest between Pakistan and Australia. Babar Azam’s 196 and Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 104 pulled off an unlikely draw which will be remembered for years to come. While the scoreboard will show it as a draw, the Babar-led side will consider it as a huge win after an embarrassing collapse in the first innings.
Chasing a target of 506, Pakistan started the Day 5 at 192/2. There were a few half chances but Australian bowlers had to work hard to get the first breakthrough. Abdullah Shafique did not seem troubled until he reached the nineties. Despite skipper Babar trying to calm him down, Shafique went for a drive and handed an easy catch to first slip fielder Steve Smith who did not make a mistake this time. The Kangaroos got the wicket they hunted for just before the lunch break to get their tails up. The opener departed for 96. The 23-year-old shared a match-saving 228-run partnership with the skipper which is also the second-highest partnership on Asian soil in fourth innings of a Test.
Skipper Pat Cummins did not stop there and got Fawad Alam before he could settle in. Alam was squared up and edged one to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. Alam remained unimpressive in both innings as he departed after contributing just nine runs to the score from 27 deliveries.
After Alam’s wicket, wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan walked in the middle. Rizwan did not disappoint his skipper. While there were few hits and misses, the dependable duo even kept Pakistan’s hopes of pulling off an unlikely victory alive. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled marathon spells kept on trying but did not get the results his team wanted on a Day 5 sub-continent pitch. Rizwan was very cautious till the end of second session scoring just 14 runs from 54 deliveries, providing the support his skipper needed.
In the third session, Azam and Rizwan walked in with the intention of rattling Australian bowlers with few boundaries. However, they did not go through with it. When Rizwan reached his half-century, it seemed like Pakistan may step on the gas but few overs later Lyon got the big wicket of Azam which was followed by silence in the stadium and then some claps to honour his record-breaking innings. Azam departed after scoring 196 runs from 425 deliveries including 21 fours and one six. It is also the highest score by a captain in the fourth innings of a Test.
Before Azam could settle in the dressing room, he got another shock from Lyon as he dismissed Faheem Ashraf for a golden duck. With six wickets down and plenty time left in the third session, Australia had victory in their sights but then Rizwan took on Azam’s job.
Rizwan did not go into the ultra defensive mode and scored off the opportunities when they were presented without going overboard with it. Eventually tailender Sajid Khan fell into Lyon’s trap and the two boundaries he scored did not make the difference as hosts were going for a draw. In Nauman Ali, Rizwan found the perfect tailender as he did nothing but block it out. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old got to his second Test century and helped Pakistan pull off a win-like draw.
Pakistan were 63 runs away from victory but they could not risk getting all out in a jiffy. In the end, the scoreboard read 443/7, which should be considered as a big achievement after getting 148 all out on a pitch that did not look threatening on Day 3. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc and debutant Mitchell Swepson disappointed skipper Cummins as they could not get a single wicket in the last innings.
