Babar Azam’s batting brilliance, video vagaries and some fielding flops have thwarted Australia in a gripping drawn second Test against Pakistan.
Spinner Nathan Lyon took three wickets in the last 13 overs but the Australians fell three wickets shy of their first Test triumph in Karachi on Wednesday.
Chasing 506 runs to win, Babar made a heroic 196 and Mohammad Rizwan a superb 104 not out as Pakistan finished on 7-443.
The series remains nil-all ahead of the third and final Test in Lahore starting on Monday.
Babar blunted Australia’s bowlers in a 425-ball epic, posting the highest-ever score by a captain in the fourth innings of a Test.
But the skipper’s gallant resistance ended when dismissed by Lyon with 12.2 overs remaining.
Two wickets in two balls for Lyon
Next ball, Lyon removed Faheem Ashraf for a golden duck to revive Australian hopes of a last-gasp win.
Lyon’s hat-trick ball was defended by Sajid Khan but the rapid strikes left Australia needing four more wickets in a dozen overs with the third new ball.
With 49 balls remaining, Lyon snared another wicket when Sajid was caught at slip.
With 19 balls left, Usman Khawaja at cover dropped a dolly of a catch from Rizwan’s bat.
And with eight balls remaining, a diving Rizwan, on 99, just returned to his crease after advancing to Lyon, who threw down the stumps.
Rizwan registered his ton from the next ball and then negotiated four balls of the last over before Australian captain Pat Cummins called a halt with victory impossible.
Cummins’ tactics sure to spark debate
Cummins’ tactics – extending his team’s first innings into day three, not enforcing the follow-on, and batting 35 minutes into day four when 489 runs ahead – are certain to provoke debate.
But Cummins still left his team 178 overs to bowl out the Pakistanis.
And Australia were also without some last-day luck: two video reviews for lbw were denied despite replays showing the ball would have hit the stumps.
The flashpoints evidenced quirks in the decision review system.
Australia sought reviews to not out verdicts from lbw appeals involving Babar when he was 169 and Rizwan on 14.
The review replays showed both balls, from Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson respectively, would have hit the stumps.
Umpires’ calls favour Pakistan
But both reviews were deemed ‘umpire’s call’ and the original not out verdicts stood.
Babar also received a let-off on 161 when Travis Head dropped a reflex catching chance at silly point from Swepson’s bowling – the Australian stuck out his right hand to a forward prod but failed to complete the catch.
Next ball, another Babar forward defensive shot landed centimetres short of Marnus Labuschagne at short-leg.
Earlier, Cummins (2-75) had removed Abdullah Shafique for 96, caught by Steve Smith at first slip when edging a drive.
Shafique and Babar put on a 228-run partnership, soaking up almost 86 overs – just the fourth time in history a third-wicket union surpassed 200 in the fourth innings of a Test.
Cummins also dismissed Fawad Alam (nine) while Lyon finished with 4-112 from 55 overs.
Allrounder Cameron Green took 1-32 but Mitchell Starc (0-58) and Test debutant Mitchell Swepson (0-156 from 53.4 overs) were wicketless.
-AAP
