Azhar eyes ton, Pakistan 302-1 against Australia in Rawalpindi

ISLAMABAD : Azhar Ali closed in on his 19th test hundred as he and centurion Imam-ul-Haq continued to frustrate Australia and powered Pakistan to 302 for one on day two of the opening test in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

The duo have batted for more than three sessions, forging an unbroken 197-run stand on a flat track though scoring was not easy against Australia's disciplined attack.

Azhar was batting on 95 at the lunch break, a patient knock that included seven boundaries and a six.

Imam hit 12 fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 154 at a venue where his uncle and former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq had smashed 177 in a 1997 test against West Indies.

The bespectacled left-hander was on 143 when Australia made a timid caught-behind appeal against him, which was turned down.

Australia chose not to review the decision but UltraEdge showed a spike as the Nathan Lyon delivery passed the bat.

The players observed a moment's silence before second day's play in memory of Shane Warne and the victims of Friday's attack in a mosque in Peshawar.

Pat Cummins had employed eight bowlers on Friday to try and make inroads into the Pakistan top order and the Australia captain resorted to short deliveries after Pakistan resumed on 245 for one.

While Imam occasionally looked in discomfort, Azhar was hardly perturbed and even played a ramp shot over the slip cordon to score a boundary.

Australia are visiting Pakistan after 24 years to play three tests, an equal number of one-dayers and a Twenty20 International.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Kim Coghill)