'He was looking for a boundary maybe through the off-side': Smith has his say on why Babar missed out on double hundred

Babar’s marathon effort, during which he hit 21 fours and a straight six, was the highest ever by any captain in the fourth innings of a Test.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam notched up his "best Test innings" to pull his team out from a precarious situation against Australia in the second Test in Karachi. In pursuit of colossal 506-run target, ended on 443 for 7 with Babar scoring 196 and Mohammed Rizwan scoring an unbeaten 104. Babar and Rizwan put in a record-breaking performance to force a dramatic draw, and the pair seemed to safely steer the hosts to a safe position before Nathan Lyon turned the match on its head by dismissing Babar and then Faheem Ashraf with successive deliveries.

Babar Azam and Steve Smith (AP | Reuters)

Babar gloved a catch to Marnus Labuschagne at forward short-leg at a time when there were just 13 overs left in the game. Babar’s marathon effort, during which he hit 21 fours and a straight six, was the highest ever by any captain in the fourth innings of a Test. He surpassed Michael Atherton’s 185 not out against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1995 but fell short of the double century milestone.

Babar's knock has also earned praise from opposition batter Steve Smith, who hailed the Pakistan star for his marathon innings. Steve heaped praise on Pakistan's batting show as a collective unit but also pointed out what could've been the reason behind Babar's dismissal.

"When he was on a 196, perhaps he was looking for a boundary maybe through the off-side and just changed his mind a fraction knowing that he was so close to his 200 and that might have brought about his dismissal perhaps," said Smith ahead of the start of the third Test in Lahore.

"I thought he played remarkably well against our spinners. Nathan was getting a bit out of the rough, but everything just seemed to hit the middle of his bat until he got out. They made us work really hard for wickets and we were just not good enough to get all 10 in the end," he further said.

Smith scored 78 in Australia’s first Test in Pakistan since 1998 and followed it up with a 72 in the drawn game at Karachi. He belives to get his first away Test ton in over two years after failing to capitalize on two good starts.

"Look, I’ve been pretty disappointed when I’ve got out, that’s for sure. "I haven’t got out (in the 70s) many times in my career and I think I’ve got to get the bigger scores, particularly on those wickets. “Hopefully (I) can get into the similar position in this test and go on and convert,” Smith said.

With the first two Test matches ending in a draw, it will be a winner-takes-all situation in the third and final game in Lahore on Monday. The series is currently tied 0-0.