Faheem, Shadab help Pakistan bounce back on Day 2

After rain played the tease with Ireland, extending their maiden encounter with Test cricket by a day, sun shined, smiled and welcomed them to the elitist club of Test cricket on Saturday (May 12). Ten Irishmen wore their maiden Test cap, and away from the limelight two Pakistanis - Imam-ul-Haq and Faheem Ashraf - too, but it was a day when all the attention was hogged by the hosts, and rightly so.

Keeping up with the spirit of the occasion, the crowd joined in too, keeping up the energy and colour - while retaining the quintessential quiet cricket applause. And they were aided by the excuse that Ireland were on top for most parts of the first two sessions, troubling the Pakistani batsmen with the moving ball, and bagging as many as six wickets before Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan combined to put on a century stand en route their respective fifties and seized the initiative. To begin with, however, it was all going the way of the hosts.

Having won the toss, William Porterfield elected to field. The new ball pair of Boyd Rankin and Tim Murtagh kept the line tight and allowed only for few runs to escape in the first half an hour of play, and then a double strike off consecutive balls had the visitors reduced to 13 for 2. Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali was squared up by a Rankin delivery and edged one to his Irish counterpart at slips. And off the next ball, Murtagh trapped Imam-ul-Haq with an inswinger.

Using the pressure of the early wickets, Ireland went on the aggressive, often having five fielders in the slip cordon. Asad Shafiq and Haris Sohail looked out of sorts against the movement and the pace but they controlled their urge to attack and put on a useful half-century stand. Time and again, the Irish pacers managed to induce edges off the bat, but found the ball going inches past the fielders.

The third wicket pair combined to add 58 runs before one of Sohail's edges was taken by a fine Porterfield catch at slips. And thereafter, all the middle order batsmen managed to get starts but their inability to string partnerships of substance allowed Ireland to remain on top till Tea. Murtagh, Rankin and Stuart Thomson bagged two wickets each and reduced Pakistan to 159 for 6 at one stage, and looked in a serious threat of getting bowled out by the end of day's play. And that is when Shadab and Faheem joined forces in the middle.

The two bowling all-rounders gave a good account of their abilities with the bat and counter-attacked against Ireland's challenge. Post Tea, the threat from the conditions also reduced. Even as the sun was hidden by dense cloud cover for most parts, the pitch had become easier to bat on. First, it was Shadab who played the aggressor and then Faheem to help Pakistan revive. The latter become the fastest half-centurion for Pakistan on debut, bringing up his 50 off only 52 balls. Their partnership extended to 109, and Pakistan's to 268 for 6, before umpires had to call off play due to bad light. The century stand for the seventh wicket helped Pakistan shift the initiative, which rested with Ireland for most parts of the day, in their favour.

Only 76 overs of play was possible on the second day. But, in hindsight, given what the forecasts had predicted, both teams, especially Ireland, would be happy with the amount of cricket that eventually took place.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 268/6 (Asad Shafiq 62, Faheem Ashraf 61*; Tim Murtagh 2-33, Stuart Thompson 2-51) vs Ireland