Azhar celebrates after scoring his 12th Test century

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

For the second consecutive day, just 50 overs of play was possible due to heavy rain that frustrated a crowd of nearly 40,000 in Melbourne.

Nonetheless, in the time that the players did spend on the pitch, Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali stole the spotlight as he dominated Australia with his fantastic knock of 139 not out.

Starting off the day on 142/4, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq got Pakistan off to a strong start as they converted their 17-run partnership into a 107-run stand before an early lunch was taken. During the break though, the rain came and play was suspended for more than three hours.

When the match finally resumed, Azhar and Shafiq were only able to add eight runs to their partnership before Shafiq was dismissed by Jackson Bird for 50, which came off 123 balls and included four boundaries.

Shafiq scored his 18th Test fifty

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed fell shortly after for just 10 runs, but Azhar and Mohammad Amir steadied the innings with an unbeaten 42-run partnership before the heavens parted once again.

With the rain refusing to relent, the umpires, for the second day in a row, had no choice but to bring play to an end earlier than expected.

Azhar finished on 139 off 287 balls, which included 12 boundaries, while Amir remained undefeated on 28 off 23 deliveries, which included six boundaries.

Bird was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Josh Hazlewood snapped up two and Nathan Lyon chipped in with one.

Pakistan ended day two on 310/6 and will continue batting on Wednesday at 10:00 local time, 23:00 GMT (the previous day).