RAWALPINDI: As Australia’s first Test in Pakistan in nearly a quarter-century ended in a draw in Rawalpindi on Monday, Steve Smith expressed his displeasure at missing out on a century.

As Australia reached 449-7 in response to Pakistan’s declared first-inning total of 476-4, Mitchell Starc was on 12 and skipper Pat Cummins was on four.

Smith, on the other hand, was irritated with himself for leaving earlier on 78.

“I got a bit greedy with the field they had set. I had worked pretty hard and got myself in a nice position to go on and get a big score.”

Australia is visiting Pakistan for the first time since 1998, after previously refusing to visit due to security concerns.

Despite the fact that no rain is expected on Tuesday, the chances of a result in the first match of the three-match series are slim, barring a Pakistan batting collapse in the second innings on a surface that still appears to be full of runs.

If not for the hours of play lost due to the weather, Smith believes there would have been a slight possibility of a result on the final day.

“Perhaps if we were five down we might have been able to push a little harder in the morning and potentially set something up for the fourth innings,” he said.

However, the track at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has only yielded 925 runs for 13 wickets and is unlikely to create the spin required for a result.

Despite this, Pakistan took five wickets on Monday, including Marnus Labuschagne (90) and Smith, with Nauman collecting 4-107 in 37 precise overs.

By getting Smith caught off a miscued sweep at leg slip by Iftikhar Ahmed, Nauman broke a stubborn fifth-wicket stand of 81 between Smith and Cameron Green (48).

In the first innings, Australia needed quick runs to get ahead, but they were shocked when Nauman dismissed Smith with a mishit sweep that caught the gloves and landed in wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan’s safe hands.

Steve Smith batted for five hours and two minutes, hitting eight boundaries.

In the dimming light, Alex Carey hit 19 before being dismissed by fast Naseem Shah.

Due to overnight rain, the stadium’s outfield was flooded, and the umpires finally allowed play to begin after lunch.

When Pakistan got the second new ball after 80 overs, Australia, who were 271-2 overnight, advanced to 288-2 — and were immediately rewarded.

Pacemaker with a left-arm Abdullah Shafique dived to his right in the slips after Shaheen Shah Afridi forced an edge from Labuschagne.

Labuschagne batted for 190 minutes and hit 12 boundaries.

Travis Head, who was named man-of-the-series in Australia’s 4-0 Ashes victory at home in January, struck two boundaries before being caught behind by Rizwan after misfiring a drive off spinner Nauman.

The other successful Pakistan bowlers were Shaheen (1-80), Naseem (1-89), and Sajid (1-122).

The series’ second Test will be held in Karachi from March 12 to 16, and the third will be held in Lahore from March 21 to 25.

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