Man of the Match today PAK vs AUS: The Pakistani captain won the match award for the first time in his Test career.
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The second Test match of the ongoing Australia’s tour of Pakistan ended in a draw but only after 22 players played five grueling days of Test cricket at the National Stadium.
A test of patience for both the players and audiences across the globe, the match finished with Pakistan batting for almost a couple of days to secure one of the best draws in the history of cricket.
Captain Babar Azam (196), vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan (104*) and opening batter Abdullah Shafique (96) batted for a combined total of 907 deliveries to save the match for the home team.
With bowling figures of 55-20-112-4, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon was the pick of their bowlers in the second innings. Apart from Lyon, captain Pat Cummins and all-rounder Cameron Green picked two and a wicket respectively.
Man of the Match today PAK vs AUS 2nd Test
In what Azam’s sixth Test century, it was his fourth one at home, second against Australia and first as captain. Azam, who became only the fourth batter in the history of cricket to play 400+ deliveries in the fourth innings of a Test match, also scored the highest-ever fourth innings score by a captain.
A career-best knock had it in it to make Azam a deserving candidate for his maiden Man of the Match award in Test cricket. “The plan was to bat session-by-session and build partnerships. It was a team effort as others [Andullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan] chipped in with useful contributions too,” Azam told PTV during the post-match presentation ceremony in Karachi today.
Sydney. Brisbane. Karachi. Third time in 15 months, Australia failed to seize the game in 4th innings. #PakvAus
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) March 16, 2022
“We took the onus and the main focus was to build partnerships right throughout the day. Rizwan was outstanding as he saved the Test for us eventually. We wanted to continue to bat in the same way [after the tea break] and we tried to be positive and play our shots. The team needed this knock, so I tried to bat for as long as I could.”
