DUBAI: Sarfar Ahmed smashed his country's fourth fastest hundred to lift Pakistan to 454-8 at tea on the second day of the first Test against Australia in Dubai on Thursday.
The 27-year-old hit paceman Mitchell Marsh over the slips for his 14th boundary to complete his hundred off just 80 balls as Pakistan continued to pile agony on Australian bowlers on a flat Dubai stadium pitch.
Ahmed, who scored his first hundred in Sri Lanka two months ago, fell in the last over before tea, stumped off spinner Nathan Lyon for 109. He batted for 148 minutes and hit 14 boundaries in all.
Majid Khan holds the record for the fastest Test hundred by a Pakistani (in terms of balls faced) with 74 balls while Shahid Afridi hit hundreds off 78 balls on two occasions.
At tea Zulfiqar Babar was seven not out as Pakistan plundered 235 runs in the two sessions after resuming the day at 219-4.
Ahmed added an important 124 runs for the sixth wicket with Asad Shafiq (89) to build the innings after Shafiq added 93 with his skipper Misbah-ul Haq who made 69.
Misbah, under pressure to score after managing just 67 in the 2-0 Test defeat in Sri Lanka two months ago, hit two boundaries and two sixes during his 255-minute stay at the crease.
Both Misbah and Shafiq survived the crucial first hour and then build up the innings.
Lyon was unlucky not to have dismissed Shafiq off the first ball of day's second over when Alex Doolan failed to catch a bat-pad push at forward short-leg. Shafiq by then had not added to his overnight score of nine.
Misbah, who was 34 overnight, reached his first half-century in nine innings with a push for a single and then launched an attack, hitting Lyon for a six over long-on.
He also hit Smith for a six but played one shot too many, holing out much to the delight of the Australians.
Shafiq missed his hundred by 11 runs as he holed out to Steve O'Keefe, the left-armer's first wicket in Tests.
Shafiq hit five boundaries and two sixes during his 151-ball stay.
Johnson (3-39) led a hapless Australian attack with left-arm spinner O'Keefe struggling to take 2-107 and
Nathan Lyon 1-148 in 36.4 overs.
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