Shafique and Imam made 252 for no loss on the final day. © AFP
1187 runs for the cost of just 14 wickets. Australia's first Test in Pakistan since October 1998 didn't exactly turn out to be a good advertisement for the longest format of the game as the match ended in a tame draw.

As the final session of the Rawalpindi Test commenced, the only academic interest left in the game was surrounding the respective hundreds of Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq. Shafique, who was on 99 when Tea was taken, completed his maiden Test ton when he pinched a single to fine leg off the bowling of Cameron Green in the 57th over. On the other hand, Imam had a close shave when he seemed to have edged one to the FSL fielder off Nathan Lyon in the 60th over. Just that Australia didn't challenge the on-field decision with a review.

A few overs later, Imam followed in the footsteps of Shafique by completing his second hundred of the Test when he lofted Travis Head over mid-on for a double. As the day's play progressed, Australia skipper Pat Cummins ended up using nine bowling options including Usman Khawaja before the Test finished in a stalemate with the score reading 252 for 0.

The first two sessions too were full of runs. After the left-arm spinner Nauman Ali took a six-for to help Pakistan gain a small lead of 17, Shafique and Imam went about collecting runs at brisk pace. The highlight of the duo's batting was the way Imam charged down the track to loft Lyon into the downtown territories in the 12th over. Meanwhile, Shafique employed the cut, punch and glances to counter the trio of Mitchell Starc, Lyon and Cummins.

Occasionally, Lyon found a hint of turn to trouble the left-handed Imam. Marnus Labuschagne, the part-timer, too extracted a bit of turn but there wasn't much assistance for the spinners on a Day 5 wicket. Both sides would hope for a sporting wicket at Karachi, where the second Test is scheduled to take place from March 12.

Brief scores: Pakistan476/4 decl. (Azhar Ali 185, Imam-ul-Haq 157; Pat Cummins 1-62) and 252/0 (Abdullah Shafique 136*, Imam-ul-Haq 111*) drew with Australia 459 (Usman Khawaja 97, Marnus Labuschagne 90; Nauman Ali 6-107).