Mohammad Hafeez picks the 'only gain' for Pakistan from the Australian series

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has picked opening batsman Abdullah Shafique as the only positive for the home side from the ongoing Test series against Australia.

Hafeez, who has been quite vocal in his assessment of the nature of pitches that have been dished out in the historic series, took to his Twitter account to wield another jibe at the surfaces as he lauded young Shafique for his brilliant performances this series.

He wrote:

"The only gain in this historic series so far is Abdullah Shafique. Rest is the history of draw games."

Speaking of Shafique, the right-handed opener has proved to be a rock for his side at the top of the order, albeit on slow and turgid tracks.

He scored an unbeaten 136 in the second innings of the Rawalpindi Test, but his marathon knock of 96 in the fourth innings at Karachi made everyone turn heads.

With Pakistan needing to bat for close to 170 overs to ensure a draw, Shafique showed incredible grit, composure, and mental tenacity to blunt the Australian attack for close to three sessions.

He picked off from where he had left in Karachi, racking up yet another 50+ score (81 off 228 deliveries) in the first innings of the ongoing series decider in Lahore.

Overall, the 22-year-old has racked up 370 runs in five innings at an average of 92.50 with the help of two fifties and one hundred.

Pakistan will be desperate for yet another big knock from their young opener when they come out to bat for the final time in this series.

The home side squandered a commanding position on the third day as they lost their last seven wickets for 20 runs to hand Australia a 100+ lead.

Australia finished the day at 11/0 and with an overall advantage of 134.