Both teams walk away with four points each in WTC standings and continue to occupy top two spots

KARACHI: It went down to the wire in the second Test between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi, but centuries from skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan ensured that the hosts held on to a draw.

The action in the second Test went into the final over of the match, where Pakistan managed to draw the game with Mohammad Rizwan batting out till the end to see his team through. Both teams walked away with four points each in the WTC standings and continue to occupy the top two spots.

Pakistan resumed the day’s play on 192/2, needing to chase 506 runs or survive 90 overs on the final day, and were on track with Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique doing the job for them. Starting the day’s play with the new ball, Australian pacers bowled tightly, with Babar, in particular, struggling against Starc early on. Shafique, at the other end, was steadily approaching his second Test century.

The batters didn’t take long to settle in and continued to blunt the Australian pace attack. Cummins summoned his spinner in the first session to get him the breakthrough but both Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson were unsuccessful.

However, on the stroke of lunch, the Australian pacers began to extract reverse swing as skipper Cummins got the better of the set batter Shafique on 96, breaking an epic 228-run second-wicket partnership. Shafique was undone by a Cummins’ outside-off delivery, which he edged through to the slips cordon, bringing an end to his valiant innings of 96 off 305 balls.

Fawad Alam, after a golden duck in the first innings, started cautiously and, along with skipper Babar, ensured Pakistan did not lose any more wickets going into lunch. With still 252 runs to win the match, Pakistan’s resistance continued after the interval. Alam who had finally managed to score his first runs of the series, fell to a brilliant delivery from Cummins, as he nicked the ball straight into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.

The wicket charged up the Aussies and Cummins started bowling aggressively, but nothing could stop the determined Babar, who surpassed his previous best Test score of 143 and shortly reached the milestone of 150 for the first time in his Test career.