BULAWAYO : Zimbabwe: In-form Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez had two
lucky escapes on his way to his third Test century here on Saturday on
the third day of the one-off Test with Zimbabwe.Hafeez's
luck ran out though two balls from the lunch interval when on 119 he
spooned the ball to Gregory Lamb off medium pacer Hamilton Masakadza.However,
he and the more sedate Azhar Ali, who was 65 not out, had taken
Pakistan on to a comfortable 196-2 at the break in reply, 217 runs
adrift of the hosts respectable 412 all out in their first innings.Hafeez's 119 included a six and 17 fours and saw him pass the landmark of 1000 runs.Hafeez
rode his luck throughout the innings as in his opening over of the day
Chris Mpofu dropped a straightforward caught and bowled chance. He and
Ali were also stranded at one end of the wicket but a fielding fumble
let them off.Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor persisted with
seamers through most of the morning, Mpofu bowling ten straight overs
but finally opted for a change of tactics when he brought on medium
pacer Masakadza and it duly paid off with Hafeez's rush of blood to the
head.
