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Australian struggle with ball ends in draw

Australia have failed to take a wicket on a benign day-five Rawalpindi wicket, as Pakistan agreed to end their second innings and draw the first Test at 0-252.

Australia have three days to find a way to make a dent in Pakistan's batting after the hosts' second innings on a docile Rawalpindi wicket ended at 0-252 and in a predictable draw.

In one of the most dour bat-dominated Tests in decades, Pakistan ended it on a high with opener Abdullah Shafique scoring his maiden Test century with 136.

Opening partner Imam-ul-Haq also made it twin tons for the game with his 111, as part of the highest unbeaten opening partnership against Australia in history.

In truth, Australia were never really interested in a contest that was over long ago as captain Pat Cummins saved his bowlers with the second Test in Karachi starting Saturday.

He bowled himself for just four overs on Tuesday, as spinners sent down 55 of the 77 bowled.

Australia, Pakistan and the ICC will all be hoping for a better wicket there, with the Rawalpindi pitch offering next to nothing for the bowlers.

But Australia also need to find answers, after their four wickets for the Test made for their least in history when sending down more than 200 overs.

Those wickets also came at a cost of 182 per scalp, the most in any Test where they have bowled in two innings.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood each ended up going wicketless for the match, while Cummins and Lyon claimed one each.

Cummins however insisted there was no cause for concern given the wicket.

"It's not a (confidence) hit at all," Cummins said.

"Our three quick bowlers and Nathan are all quite experienced.

"They've played a lot of cricket on really good wickets, flat wickets, bouncing wickets and spinning wickets."

"Whoever's called on for the next Test will be ready to go."

Australia are likely to go with a spinner with Mitchell Swepson favoured to debut on a Karachi wicket expected to turn.

"We'll spend the next couple of days reviewing it, having a look at different plans ahead of Karachi," Cummins said.

"We all bowled around about 25 or 30 overs each, which in comparison to a lot of Australian Test matches is actually a pretty light workload.

"I was really happy with how everyone went and everyone's come through unscathed."

The only real drama of the day came in a second missed review for the match, with Imam-ul-Haq surviving a ball that went to bat pad.

But given the low intensity of day five it was hard to judge them for that.

Attention will now turn to what mark the ICC give the Rawalpindi wicket, with match referee Ranjan Madugalle the same man who gave the MCG a "poor" rating in 2017.

Under rules currently laid out by the ICC a poor rating incurs three demerit points.

Any ground which accumulates five over a five-year period receives a 12-month suspension from international cricket.

Only 14 wickets were taken across the entire match, with Pakistan's bowlers accounting for 10 of those as Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne narrowly missed centuries.

In a sign of the bat's dominance, Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq's unbeaten stand made it the third opening stand in the match to pass 100 - a first in 145 years of Test cricket.

Australia had hoped they could build a lead and pressure Pakistan on day five.

But that was extinguished when Nauman Ali finished with career-best figures of 6-117, leaving them all out for 459 in reply to Pakistan's first innings of 4(dec)-476.

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