'Contribution of hundred and zero is the same while saving a Test': Rizwan reserves huge praise for batting partner

While Babar fell four short of double hundred, Rizwan hung in to notch up an unbeaten 104 off 177 balls in a riveting last hour of the Karachi Test.

The Karachi crowd witnessed one of the finest Test innings as Pakistan skipper Babar Azam produced a stellar 196 to help his team draw the game against Australia from a precarious position. In pursuit of a huge target of 506, Pakistan ended their second innings on 443 for 7 with hundreds from Babar and Mohammed Rizwan. (

Mohammad Rizwan, right, and Nauman Ali leave the ground at the end of the play of the 2nd Test against Australia (AP)

While Babar fell four short of double hundred, Rizwan hung in to notch up an unbeaten 104 off 177 balls in a riveting last hour on final day of the Test. Rizwan also got support from No. 9 batter Nauman Ali, who successfully defended 18 balls without scoring and saw off the last eight overs with the wicketkeeper-batter.

Rizwan has acknowledged Nauman's stay at the crease, saying the contribution of hundred and zero is at the same level when a team is trying to save a Test. It was a remarkable escape by Pakistan at the National Stadium and Rizwan believes Nauman's "compact" batting gave him confidence.

"The contribution of a hundred and zero is the same while saving a Test. Nauman played eighteen balls and they were more crucial than my hundred. If I would have thrown the wicket after my hundred, it would have had no value. His compact batting gave me confidence," said Rizwan in a video shared by Pakistan Cricket on YouTube.

Nathan Lyon removed Babar and Faheem Ashraf in successive deliveries but Rizwan's hundred kept Australia three wickets away from going 1-0 up in the three-match Test series. Rizwan identified Lyon as a threat and said he was thinking just about "survival" when the off-spinner continued his spell from one end.

"Hundred wasn't in my mind when Lyon came to bowl. But I believed Swepson would give me some boundary balls as I thought he was trying too hard due to which the ball fell short and sometimes a full toss. But when Lyon came to bowl from that end, I thought only about survival. By God's grace I got some boundaries and got to a hundred," he said.

With the first two Test matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi ending in a draw, it will be winner-take-all in the third and final test in Lahore on Monday.