Fawad Alam and Faheem Ashraf played knocks of 109 and 64 respectively on the second day of the opening Test against South Africa as Pakistan gained firm control on proceedings at the National Stadium here on Wednesday.
At stumps on day two, Pakistan's score read 308/8 with Hasan Ali (11*) and Nauman Ali (6*) still at the crease. The hosts have extended their lead to 88 over the Proteas with two wickets in the bag.
Resuming day two on 33/4, Azhar Ali and Alam negated the first session with precision. Both batters kept the Proteas bowlers at bay, and they did not play any rash shot on a pitch that started misbehaving from the second day. The duo scored 71 runs in the first session, taking the score to 104/4 with Ali and Alam unbeaten on 38 and 39 respectively.
In the second session, both Ali and Alam started from where they left and the course of play also saw Ali registering his half-century. But soon after reaching the milestone, Ali (51) was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj and this ended the 94-run stand between both batters, reducing Pakistan to 121/5. Mohammad Rizwan then joined Alam in the middle and the duo ensured that Pakistan did not lose wickets in a cluster.
However, right on the cusp of the tea break, South Africa got the wicket of Rizwan (33) after Lungi Ngidi rose to the occasion. This wicket ended Rizwan and Alam's 55-run stand. At the tea interval, Pakistan's score read 178/6, still trailing Proteas by 42 runs.
In the final session, Alam continued from where he left off and he went on to register a century and with this effort, Pakistan went on to take the lead in the first innings. Alam found support in Ashraf and both batters took full control of the proceedings. Both batters extended their partnership to 102 runs, but with half-an-hour's play left in the day, Lungi Ngidi dismissed Alam (109). Before stumps, Anrich Nortje cleaned up Ashraf (64), but in the end, Hasan Ali and Nauman Ali held ground to frustrate the Proteas bowlers.
Brief Scores: South Africa 220; Pakistan 308/8 (Fawad Alam 109, Faheem Ashraf 64, Kagiso Rabada 2-45).
( With inputs from ANI )
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