Pakistani skipper Shan Masood starred on the opening day of the four-day match against Australian Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
The newly appointed skipper scored an unbeaten century to guide his side to 324-6 at stumps on Wednesday.
The day concluded with Pakistan at 324/6 with Shan standing at 156 off 235 balls. Unfortunately, Faheem Ashraf was dismissed at the last ball of the day after scoring 17 runs.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, but the start was not promising as opener Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed early by scoring only 9 runs.
Following Shafique’s departure, Babar Azam joined Shan Masood and the duo built a crucial partnership of 92 runs before Babar was dismissed for 40 runs.
Related – Sarfaraz Ahmed speaks up on Babar Azam, Shan Masood “camaraderie”
The bilateral series commences at Perth’s Optus Stadium on December 14. The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts the second fixture on December 26 and the third and final Test is scheduled on January 3.
Pakistan have a disappointing record in the Land Down Under as the side have never won a Test series there. Shan Masood would be eyeing to change history in the upcoming fixtures.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner
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