Pakistan’s openers got among the runs on a placid pitch on Friday as they reached 181-0 in reply to England’s mammoth 657 in the first Test in Rawalpindi.

At close on day two, Imam-ul-Haq (90*) and Abdullah Shafique (89*) were approaching hundreds when umpires called stumps with 17 overs remaining.

The hosts still need 277 runs to avoid the follow-on.

The pitch was again unresponsive to bowlers as the England attack, led by James Anderson, toiled in the same manner as Pakistan.

Shafique was lucky to survive a confident caught behind appeal by Ollie Pope off a rising delivery. Although umpire Joel Wilson gave a soft signal for out, TV official Marais Erasmus overruled it.

Haq, who scored a century in each innings on the same pitch in a Test against Australia in March, pushed spinner Jack Leach for two to complete 1,000 runs in his 17th Test.

Shafique, who also scored a hundred against Australia in the March Test, cracked two boundaries to reach his fifth half-century in his eighth Test, highlighting his rapid progress.

Haq followed suit soon after, taking a single off Joe Root for his fifth half-century.

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Earlier, resuming at 506-4, England added 151 runs in 125 minutes, with Harry Brook taking his overnight score of 101 to 153 – one of four centurions in the innings.

Skipper Ben Stokes (41), debutant Liam Livingstone (nine), and Brook were all dismissed by pace bowler Naseem Shah, who finished with 3-140.

Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood conceded 235 for his four wickets – the most by a bowler on a Test debut.

Previously, Sri Lankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv conceded 222 against India in Colombo in 2010.

England’s total is their highest against Pakistan in all Tests, improving on their 589-9 in Manchester in 2016.

On Thursday, England became the first team to score 500 runs on the opening day of a Test match, bettering Australia’s 112-year-old record of 494-6 against South Africa in Sydney.

Zak Crawley (122), Ollie Pope (108) and Ben Duckett (107) were the other centurions in the innings.

The three-match Test series is England’s first in Pakistan for 17 years, having declined to tour in the interim because of security fears.

© Agence France-Presse