It was not an ideal start to a long tour for Australia. The visitors toiled hard for 90 overs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and managed to get just one wicket. It started with the toss not going skipper Pat Cummins’ way. Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first. On a grassless wicket, Australian fast bowlers failed to get the breakthrough in the first session.
The Pakistan openers were not able to score freely but the visitors were not able to get early wickets either. There was not a single edge for the slip fielders when the fast bowlers were bowling with the new ball.
Young opener Abdullah Shafique battled hard in the middle but spin did the trick for Australia. Veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon got rid of him in the 34th over. Lyon was unlucky in the 12th over as the edge did not carry but this time he had set up Shafique nicely. In an attempt to slice hit it big by dancing down the wicket, Shafique failed to clear the mid-off fielder and got caught by mid-off fielder Cummins.
However, the opening partnership had done its damage. Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq shared a 105-run stand which is considered as an ideal opening stand in Test cricket. The 22-year-old missed his third Test half-century by just six runs.
Former skipper Azhar Ali joined the left-handed opener in the middle. Ali and Imam did not give any chances to Australian bowlers in their home conditions which did not offer much for fast bowlers. Playing his first Test since December 2019, Imam made a terrific comeback as he reached the three figures in the third session with a boundary off Mitchell Starc.
The two batters were not troubled by Australian bowlers as Ali completed his half-century few overs before the new ball was due. As fast bowlers got tired, Cummins tried as many as eight bowlers including three part-time spinners to get a breakthrough but nothing worked in his favour. Even the edges landed far from the fielders as Pakistan batters continued to dominate.
At the end of Day 1’s play, the scoreboard read 245/1 after 90 overs. Pakistan did not score runs at a good run rate but managed to tire out Australian pacers. Imam remained not out for 132 whereas Ali walked off the field unbeaten on 64. With nine wickets still in hand, Pakistan will back themselves to post a big total on the board and then go spin-heavy on visitors on Day 3 and 4.
