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The five days of drama in the second Test between Pakistan and Australia at National Stadium in Karachi finally ended with the hosts securing a draw, thanks to their skipper Babar Azam’s breathtaking knock.

In the first innings, Pakistan managed just 148 runs in response to Australia’s 556/6d, which featured Usman Khawaja’s scintillating century. The visitors didn’t proceed with the follow-on and declared their second innings at 97/2, setting up a massive target of 506 runs.

In reply, the hosts almost did the impossible and managed to reach 443/7 in the fourth innings before the end of final day’s play.  Babar and young Abdullah Shafique played the anchor role to form a 228-run stand in 524 balls to keep Pakistan’s hopes alive.

Shafique missed the three-figure mark by four runs, but vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan stepped up and further frustrated the tourists. Babar missed out his double century by a whisker after getting out for 196, while Rizwan reached his hundred and remained unbeaten on 104 before the officials announced the stumps on Day 5.

“The plan was to bat session-by-session and build partnerships. It was a team effort, as others (Shafique and Rizwan) chipped in with useful contributions too. 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,” said Babar after the match.

Here is how Twitter reacted:


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#Twitter #reactions #Babar #Azam #Mohammad #Rizwan #propel #Pakistan #secure #draw #2nd #Test #Australia


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