Pakistan recover after early jolt
SHAFIQ, SHADAB AND FAHEEM SCORE HALF CENTURIES ON DAY 2
Shadab Khan and debutant Faheem Ashraf both scored maiden Test fifties as Pakistan fought back in Ireland’s inaugural Test match in Dublin yesterday.
Pakistan were 268 for six when bad light and then rain brought the second day at Malahide to a premature close.
Shadab, in just his second Test, was 52 not out and lefthander Faheem 61 not out, with their unbroken seventhwicket stand so far worth 109 runs after they had come together at 159 for six.
Pakistan, sent into bat by Ireland captain William Porterfield, lost two wickets in successive balls to be 13 for two, but concerns that Ireland would pay for doing without a specialist spinner were eventually proved to be well-founded.
Middlesex paceman Tim Murtagh led Ireland’s attack with two wickets for 33 runs from 17 overs, with Boyd Rankin taking two for 58 in 17 overs. There was drama at an initially sun-drenched Malahide right from yesterday’s first ball of this stand-alone match.
Azhar Ali dug out a Murtagh delivery and called for a quick legside single.
Non-striker Imam-ul-Haq, like Faheem making his Test debut, found himself sandwiched between wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien and Kane in a heavy collision as he scrambled to complete the run.
The 22-year-old was left flat on the ground and needed several minutes’ treatment on the field, but he recovered to face the second ball of the match, with Imam playing and missing.
Imam, the nephew of Pakistan selection chief and former Test batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, scored a hundred on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka last year. The left-hander, who came into this match following fifties in Pakistan’s two warm-up fixtures, against Kent and Northamptonshire, square-drove Murtagh for a stylish four.
But it did not take long for Ireland to make a stunning double strike on a pitch offering some sideways movement.
Pakistan managed to finish 67 for two at lunch but lost their third wicket soon afterwards. Shafiq went on to complete a 107-ball 50 but departed soon after. Bad light saw the players leave the field early after a thunderclap and a heavy downpour, play was abandoned for the day.