Abu Dhabi: Australia were made to chase leather on the first day of the second Test as Pakistan, riding unbeaten centuries from Younis Khan — his third in successive innings — and Azhar Ali racked up 304 for two at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium here on Thursday.
At stumps, Younis was going strong on 111, while Ali was on 101 — and together they had put on an unbeaten partnership of 208 runs for the third wicket.
Younis became the first batsman in almost 90 years to score hundreds in three consecutive Test innings against Australia, following the late Herbert Sutcliffe of England. He also became the fourth Pakistan batsman to achieve the feat against any opposition, joining the elite group of Zaheer Abbas, Mudassar Nazar and Mohammad Yousuf.
Younis reached his 27th Test century in 165 innings by smashing part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell back over his head for a one-bounce boundary.
Ali reached his sixth hundred with a punch through the covers and celebrated by punching the air.
Such has been Pakistan’s dominance with the bat in this Test series that they have amassed 1,037 runs, losing just 12 wickets, since being 7/2 on the first morning of the first Test in Dubai.
Earlier in the day, Australia captain Michael Clarke’s heart would have sunk as the toss of the coin once again went in favour of Misbah-ul-Haq. The Pakistan skipper was smiling after winning his fifth toss in six Test matches at this venue. Although the single toss he did lose against South Africa still resulted in a win for his side.
The Aussies made two changes from Dubai — Maxwell replaced Alex Doolan and left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe made way for Mitchell Starc. Bringing in a pace bowler for a specialist spinner was a huge gamble on a pitch that will assist spin bowling in the later stages.
But, facing a must-win situation, Clarke’s best bet was to opt for his strength — pacers — and hope they deliver. However, the lifeless wicket offered no swing or bounce and it was back-breaking work for the Australian fast bowlers right from the start.
Though it was tough going for Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Starc, off-spinner Nathan Lyon managed to get some assistance straight away. A well set Ahmad Shehzad (35) tried to work a length Lyon ball to the leg side, missed it completely and was struck plumb in front of middle.
The hosts went into the lunch interval at 81 for one, with Mohammad Hafeez going steady on 36 and Ali on 11.
While Siddle and Starc looked ordinary, Johnson kept probing away and a good length delivery did enough to take a thin edge off Hafeez’s (45) bat to land in the safe hands of keeper Brad Haddin.
Younis started with a boundary off Johnson to bring up the 100 for Pakistan.
By tea, Younis had raced to 49, while Ali was on 26 and Pakistan 158 for 2 after 52 overs.
Immediately after the break, Younis got to his 50 off 74 balls, before he and Ali went on to post their fourth 100-plus stand in 29 innings.
Ali received two lives. On 34, he was dropped by Steve Smith off Lyon at short leg and on 47 by Warner in the slips off Smith.
He remained steady after those scares and he pushed up his scoring rate in the final session to complete his ton just before the end of the day’s play.
With Younis and Ali looking rock solid at the crease and with eight wickets in hand, another long, gruelling day in the scorching heat awaits the Aussies on Friday.
