KARACHI: Skipper Babar Azam survived dropped catches off successive balls from Australian spinner Mitchell Swepson Wednesday to keep Pakistan in with a chance of a fighting draw on the fifth and final day of the second Test in Karachi.
Set a daunting 506-run target, Pakistan were 310-4 at tea, with Azam on a career-best 168 and Mohammad Rizwan 14, defying the Australian attack for a stubborn 33-run fifth-wicket stand.
The home team need another 196 runs for an unlikely win, or bat out a maximum of 36 overs for a hard-fought draw, as the Test headed for a nervy finale.
No team has ever scored more than 418 in the fourth innings to win a Test, while Pakistan's highest successful chase was 377 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2015.
Australia dismissed Abdullah Shafique (96) and Fawad Alam (nine) in the first two sessions and could have had Azam on 161, but first Travis Head and then Marnus Labuschagne dropped sharp catches off Swepson.
Azam also survived a confident leg-before appeal against spinner Nathan Lyon when on 157, but it turned out to be umpire Aleem Dar's call on review.
Azam has so far batted for 507 minutes and hit 18 boundaries, improving on the 143 he scored against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi two years ago.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins struck eight minutes before lunch to end an epic third-wicket stand of 228 between Shafique and Azam with the score on 249.
Shafique, who hit 136 not out in the drawn first Test in Rawalpindi, drove Cummins for a boundary to reach 96.
But in his next over the Australian fast bowler drew the right-hander into another drive which this time found the edge.
Steve Smith held a sharp catch in the slips, making amends for dropping the same batsman, on 20, from a more straightforward chance at slip off Cummins the day before.
Cummins, who has figures of 2-56, then forced an edge off Fawad Alam to raise hopes of a victory, before the Azam-Rizwan stand halted the tourists' progress.
Australia are on their first tour of Pakistan since 1998, having previously refused to tour the country over security fears.
The third and final Test starts in Lahore on Monday.
Skipper Babar Azam leads Pakistan fightback against Australia in Karachi Test
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Skipper Babar Azam leads Pakistan fightback against Australia in Karachi Test
- Setting 506-run target, Pakistan were 310-4 at tea, with Azam on a career-best 168
- Pakistan defied the Australian attack for a stubborn 33-run fifth-wicket stand
Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid stumble and regains lead of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Levante
- Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna
MADRID: Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that’s what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Good start for Barcelona
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which sits in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action after an injury layoff.
Other results
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, can restore a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid if it beats Valencia at home later Sunday. Atletico beat Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
