Sarfraz Ahmed believes his century on the final day of the second Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi was the best of his career.
It was not enough to secure what would have been an unlikely win, though, with stumps on day five agonisingly called for bad light despite the hosts being just 15 runs short of their target, while New Zealand only needed one more wicket for victory.
Pakistan had been struggling on 80-5 as they chased a target of 319, but Sarfraz's terrific knock of 118 was ably supported by Saud Shakeel (32), who later added another partnership of 70 with Agha Salman (30) to almost take the win before the umpires called it with Pakistan on 304-9.
It was the fourth hundred of Sarfraz's Test career, justifying the decision to call him back into the team for this series, and he said after the draw: "Definitely I have more hundreds, but this was [my] fourth innings hundred and in the fourth innings. It is not easy to bat anywhere in the world, so I think this is my best hundred."
Sarfraz has an average of 38.85 from 51 Test appearances since his debut in 2010, and is just eight runs short of 3,000 as he ended the series with a total of 335 runs from four innings.
"I have been there with the team for four years and unfortunately I did not get a chance," he added. "But whatever cricket came my way, my effort was to keep playing my game and keep giving performances and if Allah wants then I would get an opportunity and I did get an opportunity.
"My state of mind wasn't very good when I came to bat the first time [in the series]. I was very tense, there was a lot of nerves. But the captain gave me a lot of confidence and the boys in the team gave me a lot of confidence. I backed my form from domestic cricket and had a good performance."
Michael Bracewell took 4-75, including the vital wickets of Sarfraz and Shakeel as New Zealand looked to close in on a win that would have secured them the series, which ended tied as both Tests culminated in draws.
Black Caps captain Tim Southee was in reflective mood, though, and praised Sarfraz for his defiance with the bat.
"We got ourselves to push for a win, but the way Sarfraz played sort of took the game away from us," he said. "It was a funny game, we saw in the end it was still up for grabs.
"We knew from the nature of the surface that things could happen late in the Test, Sarfraz was probably the difference, we could've won had we got them [out] earlier."
West Indies beat Pakistan in thrilling final-over finish to take unassailable 3-0 lead in T20I series
Hayley Matthews starred once again to lead the West Indies Women to a tense two-run win over Pakistan Women in the third T20I at the Karachi National Stadium on Tuesday.
The tourists first posted 132-5 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat.
Matthews led the way with a 49-ball 68 including 10 fours while Shemaine Campbelle provided good support with 31 against 2-22 from Fatima Sana.
Pakistan were then restricted to 130-8 from their 20 overs in reply.
Sidra Ameen led the way with 63 off 58 balls including seven fours.
Afy Fletcher took 2-20 from her four overs while Matthews completed a fine al-round performance with 2-22 from her four overs.
Pakistan at one point were cruising at 119-3 in the 18th over before a pair of Matthews wickets led to a collapse saw the hosts losing their next five wickets for just six runs.
In the end, Shamilia Connell successfully defended 12 runs in the final over.
The West Indies now hold an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with the final two games set for Thursday and Friday.
Full Scores: West Indies Women 132-5 (Hayley Matthews 68, Shemaine Campbelle 31, Fatima Sana 2-22)
Pakistan Women 130-8 (Sidra Ameen 63, Afy Fletcher 2-20, Hayley Matthews 2-22)
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
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