Khawaja hits unbeaten ton to put Aussies on top in Karachi

KARACHI: No Test century is a cakewalk for any batsman. But some do come close.

Take for example the ones scored by Pakistan’s top-order trio of Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali and Abdullah Shafique in the opening Test against Australia on the hopelessly flat Rawalpindi track.

Fast forward it to the second Test which began here at the National Stadium on Saturday where in a role reversal Australia opener Usman Khawaja hit an unbeaten 127 to put the tourists in control at 251-3.

Though seemingly not as docile as the Pindi track, the National Stadium wicket is also quite a featherbed where the likes of David Warner and Steve Smith, two of the three Australian batters to fall on day one, must have felt unlucky to have missed out on big knocks.

Both Warner (36) and Smith (72) were looking set to feast on the flat track but were undone by comeback pacers Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali respectively. Marnus Labuschagne, currently the No.1 Test batsman in the world who scored 90 in Pindi, was unlucky to get run-out without opening his account.

The Australians, who won a crucial toss, were solidly placed at 251-3 with Khawaja unbeaten at 127 and night-watchman Nathan Lyon at 0, having survived six deliveries.

Khawaja, 35, was the star of the day for the Aussies as he looked in complete control during his 266-ball knock that so far includes 13 fours and a six.

This is his third Test ton in six innings following his comeback in January and comes after a knock of 97 in Pindi last week.

It was quite a special century for the Islamabad-born Khawaja, whose family hails from Karachi.

“My family is actually from Karachi. This is where the Khawajas are from. Everyone in my family is born in Karachi except me. This is my home. It’s nice to get a hundred. It would’ve been nice to get a hundred both there and here but I’ll take this one,” he commented after stumps.

The Australians could have returned to the team hotel Saturday evening in a stronger position but suffered a major blow just seven deliveries before close of play the otherwise rock-solid Smith fell for 72 with Faheem taking a stunning one-handed catch at second slip off Hasan.

“It would’ve been nice to have Smith there at the end too but we had a good partnership,” said Khawaja, who put on 159 with Smith for the third wicket. Pakistan came close to taking another wicket off the last ball of the day but Imam-ul-Haq failed to get hold of a defensive flick from Lyon off Shaheen Afridi at forward short leg.

Earlier, the Australians raced to 82 from 17.5 overs after initially surviving some anxious moments against Pakistan’s new-ball pairing of Shaheen and Hasan. Warner hit three fours and two sixes but just when he was really opening up Faheem struck to get his scalp. Bowling around the wicket, Ashraf managed to get a nick off Warner’s bat and Mohammad Rizwan finished off the job with a comfortable catch.

There was more delight for Pakistan when the in-form Labuschagne, attempting a risky single, was run out for 0 by a direct side-arm throw from Sajid Khan.

But Khawaja and Smith made sure that Pakistan will have to wait for two sessions to celebrate their next wicket.

Khawaja was in sublime form as he played some exquisite strokes on his way to becoming the first Australian to score a Test ton in Pakistan since March Waugh’s 117 in Karachi in 1998. He did go through a testing phase during his nervous nineties but finally reached his 11th Test ton with a single towards square leg off spinner Sajid Khan.

Unable to break through the defences of Khawaja and Smith, Pakistan decided to put the brakes on the flow of runs as their spinners started bowling a leg stump line. It did work as the Aussie pair was unable to hit a boundary for 23 overs. But it wasn’t a very clever ploy from skipper Babar Azam as it was evident that Shaheen was getting some reverse swing and there was some turn for the spinners. A more attacking approach could have resulted in a breakthrough much earlier than it finally came.

It was only after taking the second new ball that Pakistan once again started to show some intent and were finally rewarded with the prized scalp of Smith, who fell after a painstaking knock of 72 from 214 balls. His innings lasted 280 minutes.

Pakistan, who replaced pacer Naseem Shah and all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed with Hasan and Faheem, will need to show a more aggressive approach in the coming sessions if they are to wrestle control of the Test from the Aussies. A big first innings total from the visitors will not just make victory a distant possibility for Pakistan but would even make it tough for them to achieve a draw considering that they will bat last here. The Australians will hope that the wicket will change over the course of the Test and will become friendlier for the bowlers, especially the spin duo comprising the seasoned Nathan Lyon and debutant leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson.

Score Board

Australia won the toss

Australia 1st inning

Warnerc †Rizwan b Faheem 36

Khawaja not out 127

Marnus run out (Sajid Khan) 0

Smith c Faheem b Hasan 72

Lyon not out 0

Extras: (b 5, lb 4, nb 3, w 4) 16

Total: (90 Ov) 251/3

Yet to bat: Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey †, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Swepson

Fall: 1-82, 17.6 ov 2-91, 20.6 ov 3-250, 88.5 ov

Bowling: Shaheen Shah Afridi 17-6-39-0 Hasan Ali 12-4-31-1 Faheem Ashraf 13-3-32-1 Sajid Khan 19-0-71-0 Nauman Ali 25-5-56-0 Babar Azam 2-0-3-0 Azhar Ali 2-0-10-0

Pakistan Team: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan†, Faheem Ashraf, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Test Debut: Mitchell Swepson (AUS)

Umpires: Ahsan Raza, Aleem Dar