Pak-Aus Test heads for a draw

Australia’s batters flourished on a flat wicket Monday to cut Pakistan’s lead to 27 runs as the first test heads toward a draw. Australia, playing its first test in Pakistan since 1998, reached 449-7 at stumps in its first innings on Day 4 on a grassless wicket with Marnus Labuschagne (90) and Steve Smith (78) scoring half centuries.

Cameroon Green (48) showed himself to be a test allrounder by spending more than two hours at the crease, facing 109 balls. No. 8 batter Mitchell Starc spent almost the last hour and was not out on 12 with skipper Pat Cummins not out on 4 as stumps were drawn three overs before scheduled because of bad light.

“There’s not a great deal of pace and bounce in (the wicket) for the seamers, that’s for sure,” Smith said. “I thought it would break up a little bit more and probably turn a bit more from the start, but it probably hasn’t done so.”

Pretty benign, dead wicket: Smith on Rawalpindi pitch
Smith has described the wicket as dead with the Test all set to end in a draw. “It’s pretty benign,” the former captain said. “There’s not a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers. I think the spinners have offered a little bit. When you hit the right length there’s been a little bit of natural variation and you know, when you get it out a bit wider into the rough I think there’s a little bit there as well. So I thought it would break up a little bit more and probably turn a bit more from the start, but it probably hasn’t done so. But yeah, pretty benign, dead wicket."

Brief scores: Pakistan 476/4 decl. (Azhar Ali 185, Imam Ul Haq 157, Imam-ul-Haq 157; Pat Cummins 1-62) lead Australia 449/7 (Usman Khawaja 97, Marnus Labuschagne 90; Nauman Ali 4-107) by 27 runs.