Pakistan opener Imamul Haq on Friday scored his maiden Test century as Pakistan continued its domination of the opening two session on day one of the first Test match against visitors Australia at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The left-handed opener reached the milestone with a lovely cover drive of his 200th delivery, as Pakistan continued to blunt Australia's pace-heavy attack on the opening day of the historic three-Test series.
In a bid to wear down Australia, who have had no warm-up matches in their first overseas Test tour since the Ashes in 2019, a disciplined Pakistan produced dogged batting but also, importantly, kept the scoreboard ticking with spurts of counterattacking cricket.
Imam is sharing the crease with Azhar Ali, who is also closing in on a half century of his own, at the time of the filing of this report. They are facing one of the best fast bowling attacks, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon – a deadly combination that battered the English batting lineup in the Ashes Test series in Australia.
Imam had earlier put on a century stand with right-handed opener Abdullah Shafique. Shafique, in a rush of blood, tried to hoick spinner Nathon Lyon out of the ground while on 44 only to be snapped up by captain Cummins.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. Right-hand batter Babar Azam, who is leading the Green Shirts, got the coin to fall in his favour and elected to bat first at a track that witnessed rain on Thursday, dampening the practice session of the playing teams.
"The wicket seems to be good and we will try to put a good total on the scoreboard. The wicket can prove to be good for spinners on the last days of the match," Azam said after winning the toss.
Left-handed batter Imamul Haq is on the crease with Abdullah Shafique at the time this report was filed. They are facing one of the best fast bowling attacks, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, a deadly combination that battered the English batting lineup in the Ashes Test series in Australia.
It is pertinent to mention that Australian players are wearing black armbands in memory of former Australian cricketer Rod Marsh, who died on Friday. The 74-year-old, who played 96 Tests and was later a long-time national selector, had been in an induced coma and passed away peacefully in an Adelaide hospital on Friday morning, his family confirmed.
Pakistan's playing eleven for today's match is as follows: Abdullah Shafique, Imamul Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah.
Australia playing eleven is as follows: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Australia captain Pat Cummins on Wednesday unveiled the Benaud-Qadir Trophy at the Pindi Cricket Stadium ahead of the first Test. The Benaud-Qadir Trophy will be presented to the winning side at the headquarters of Pakistan cricket in Lahore, where the three-Test series will culminate.
"Benaud and Qadir were two skilful, distinguished and immensely respected cricketers of different eras, who served the game with honour, pride and distinction. Benaud got wrist-spin bowling noticed and recognised as an attacking and wicket-taking option, an art that was subsequently taken to the next level by Qadir with some incredible performances against high-quality batters at a time when express fast bowlers were ruling the roost," read a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
PCB Chief Executive Officer Faisal Hasnain on Wednesday said that there could be no better way to celebrate and mark the revival of Pakistan-Australia Test rivalry in Pakistan by launching the trophy in the names of two absolute legends and icons of this great game – Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir.
“The launch of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy will add further context and spice to Pakistan-Australia Test series, which historically have been well-contested and hard-fought. I am confident that players from either side will draw further inspiration from this initiative and would want to be the first to put a hand on the trophy. Meanwhile, Pakistan cricket fans are looking forward to the opportunity of seeing two outstanding sides it battling out on the field in a bid to win the inaugural Benaud-Qadir Trophy," he was quoted as saying in a PCB handout.
Moreover, Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley said the Test series was an "exciting and historic occasion" with Australia touring Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. "Given that context, it is fitting that we can honour two genuine legends of the game, Richie Benaud and Abdul Qadir, by inaugurating a trophy the two sides will play for with those legendary names on it," it read.
“We believe that having a perpetual trophy for this and future series between Pakistan and Australia and having the names of Richie and Abdul illustrates the desire of both governing bodies, Cricket Australia and the Pakistan Cricket Board, to grow the stature of these series moving forward,” it added.
Pakistan have struggled to attract visiting sides since a fatal terror attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team's bus in 2009. Australia pulled out of a tour five years earlier after a suicide blast at a Lahore church. They last played in Pakistan in 1998, winning the three-Test series 1-0 and blanking the hosts in the three one-day internationals.
Having been forced to play their home games abroad -- mostly in the United Arab Emirates -- Pakistan appeared to have reassured international cricket authorities last year with both New Zealand and England scheduled to tour.
Schedule
The PCB and Cricket Australia on February 4 announced the revised itinerary of the 2022 Australia men’s cricket team’s tour of Pakistan for three Tests, three ODIs and one T20I. "The tour will now start and end in Rawalpindi with the opening Test to be played from 4-8 March and the four white-ball matches to be played from 29 March to 5 April," it read, adding that the change in the first test venue meant that the second Test would be played in Karachi from 12-16 March and the third in Lahore from 21-25 March.
Revised schedule:
Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imamul Haq, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zahid Mahmood.
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
