Pakistan’s newly-appointed Test captain Shan Masood starred on the opening day of the four-day match against Australian Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
The stylish left-hander scored an unbeaten century to guide his side to 324-6 at stumps on Wednesday.
Masood scored 156 runs in 235 balls with the help of 13 fours and a six.
After deciding to bat first, Pakistan lost opener Imam-ul-Haq early as the left-hander edged one to wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson on the bowling of Jordan Buckingham after scoring nine runs.
However, Abdullah Shafique and Masood added 58 runs for the second wicket before the former was dismissed by Mark Steketee after scoring 38 runs.
Star batter Babar Azam, who came in after Shafique’s dismissal, notched up 40 runs in 88 balls with the help of five fours. He added 92 runs for the third wicket with Masood.
Wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed also played a brisk knock of 41 runs in 47 balls with the help of six fours.
Saud Shakeel and Faheem Ashraf scored 13 and 17 runs, respectively.
Jordan Buckingham was the pick of the bowlers for the home side with figures of 3-63 in 17 overs.
Pakistan will face Australia in a three-match Test series after the conclusion of the four-day game.
Series schedule
First Test: December 14-18, Perth
Second Test: December 26-30, Melbourne
Third Test: January 3-7, Sydney
