Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Dec 3 (AFP/APP):Pakistan skipper Babar Azam joined teammates Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq Saturday in scoring a century — the seventh of the match following England’s earlier four — as the first Test looked headed for a draw in Rawalpindi.
Azam cracked a boundary towards cover off opposition skipper Ben Stokes to reach his eighth century off 126 balls, studded with 13 boundaries.
Pakistan, at 411-3, are in a strong position to reach 458 and avoid the follow-on in reply to England’s mammoth first innings total of 657.
Shafique, 89 overnight, was the first to three figures earlier with a sharp single off Joe Root, while Haq — who started the session on 90 — followed with a boundary off the same bowler.
They both now have three Test centuries and successive hundreds at the venue, having also reached three figures against Australia in March this year.
Haq scored a ton in both innings against Australia, while Shafique scored a century in the second.
Haq was eventually out for 121, and Shafique 114.
Zak Crawley (122), Ben Duckett (107), Ollie Pope (108) and Harry Brook (153) scored centuries for England in their first innings.
The Rawalpindi pitch has been heavily criticised, with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja calling it a relic of “the dark ages”.
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