Khawaja ton leads Australia to 251-3 in second Test vs Pakistan

Karachi: Opening batter Usman Khawaja didn't miss out on a second chance to score a century in the country of his birth and led Australia to 251-3 at stumps on the first day of the second test against Pakistan on Saturday.

Khawaja made an unbeaten 127 off 266 balls on another flat wicket after narrowly missing out on a hundred in the first test at Rawalpindi which ended in a tame draw. Later the docile pitch of the Pindi Cricket Stadium was declared below average by the ICC.

Khawaja and Steve Smith (72) shared a 159-run third-wicket stand before Pakistan broke it with the second new ball when Faheem Ashraf took a brilliant one-handed low catch in the slips to dismiss Smith off Hasan Ali (1-31).

Nathan Lyon was yet to score and survived a dropped catch when Imam-ul-Haq couldn't hold on to a tough chance at forward short leg off Shaheen Afridi's last ball of the day. Pakistan also went for an unsuccessful caught behind television review of Khawaja in Afridi's first over with the new ball before Hasan struck in the penultimate over of

the day.

Pakistan deployed its spinners for 26 overs in the last session, but their negative tactic of bowling down the legside to both batters did nothing else but to slow down the Australian scoring rate. Khawaja, who raised his half-century off 69 balls in the first session, didn't get frustrated and

waited patiently before completing his century in the last session off 193 balls with 12 fours and a six.