The Windies hit back after Pakistan looked set for a huge total

The hosts looked set for a huge score after fifties from Imran Farhat, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in Multan.

But two late wickets boosted Lara, who said: "The pitch is made for batting and I am satisfied with my bowlers.

"We bowled in the right areas, had five chances and took four. We're hoping on this pitch we can get some good runs."

Lara added: "When we get the opportunity to bat on it we will want to make full use of it as it is full of runs.

"There will be some deterioration, of course, from bowlers' footmarks."

It was disappointing to miss out on a hundred as it was a good opportunity Imran Farhat

The tourists, who lost the opening Test in Lahore, left out vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan after a poor run of form but Lara played down the significance of the move.

"It was just a matter of picking what we think was the best team and Sarwan still remains one of our main players - he's only missing five days of cricket," the skipper said.

Farhat looked in good touch as he compiled 74, hitting 10 boundaries in a knock spanning three hours.

The left-handed opener said: "It was a nice pitch to bat on. One is never comfortable against the new ball and once that period was over I enjoyed batting out there.

"The ball was coming nicely on to the bat and I was hardly troubled by the fast bowlers.