KEVIN O’Brien scored Ireland’s first Test century to bolster hopes of at least avoiding defeat in their debut in the five-day game against Pakistan.

Ireland resumed day four on 64-0 in their second innings having been forced to follow-on by the visitors, who reduced the hosts to 157-6 to seemingly put them in position for an emphatic victory.

Mohammad Amir, having been troubled by a knee injury on day three, looked back to fitness and form on Monday and did much of the damage with figures of 3-57.

But Amir and the rest of the Pakistan attack were frustrated by the brilliance of O’Brien, who forged a pivotal partnership of 114 with Stuart Thompson (53) and an unbroken one of 48 with Tyrone Kane (8), staying unbeaten on 118 to guide Ireland to 319-7 at the close on an historic day at Malahide.

Ireland therefore lead by 139 going into the final day, with a draw and even a victory still within their grasp after being applauded off the field by Pakistan at stumps following O’Brien’s magnificent effort.

Opener Ed Joyce (43) was run out by Faheem Ashraf before Andy Balbirnie went for a duck five balls later as Ireland made a dreadful start to the day.

The prospect of defeat loomed ever larger after Amir dismissed any doubts over his ability to produce pace by sending Niall O’Brien’s (18) off and middle stumps careering out of the ground, before then claiming the scalp of captain William Porterfield (32).

O’Brien’s arrival at the crease prompted the first signs of Ireland resistance but wickets continued to tumble around him until Thompson joined him in the middle.

Their defiance ensured Ireland would not only avoid an innings defeat but also give their own attack something to bowl at in Pakistan’s second innings.

And, though a ripper from Shadab Khan removed Thompson, O’Brien proved immovable, his belligerent strokes keeping the scoreboard ticking before he wrote his name in the history books by sneaking two through point to bring up his hundred.

O’Brien and Kane withstood pressure from Amir, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Abbas late in the day, and Ireland go into the last three sessions with the unexpected dilemma of deciding how long to bat before attempting to bowl Pakistan out to seal a seismic shock win.

PAKISTAN 1st innings
Azhar Ali c William Porterfield b Boyd Rankin 4
Imam ul-Haq lbw Tim Murtagh 7
Haris Sohail c William Porterfield b Stuart Thompson 31
Asad Shafiq c Andrew Balbirnie b Boyd Rankin 62
Babar Azam c Paul Stirling b Tim Murtagh 14
Sarfraz Ahmed c Paul Stirling b Stuart Thompson 20
Shadab Khan lbw Tim Murtagh 55
Faheem Ashraf c Niall O’Brien b Stuart Thompson 83
Mohammad Amir c Niall O’Brien b Tim Murtagh 13
Mohammad Abbas Not Out 4
Rahat Ali Not Out 0
Extras 1b 10lb 4nb 0pen 2w 17
Total (96.0 overs) 310 decl
Fall of Wickets : 1-13 Ali, 2-13 ul-Haq, 3-71 Sohail, 4-104 Azam, 5-153 Shafiq, 6-159 Ahmed, 7-276 Khan, 8-304 Ashraf, 9-306 Amir
Bowling: Tim Murtagh 25 – 5- 45 – 4, Boyd Rankin 21 – 3 – 75 – 2 (1nb),
Tyrone Kane 20 – 2 – 86 – 0, (1nb), Stuart Thompson 22 – 4 – 62 – 3, ( 1w 2nb),
Kevin O’Brien 6 – 1 – 20- 0, (1w)

IRELAND 1st innings
Ed Joyce lbw Mohammad Abbas 4
William Porterfield b Mohammad Amir 1
Andrew Balbirnie lbw Mohammad Abbas 0
Niall O’Brien lbw Mohammad Abbas 0
Paul Stirling c Babar Azam b Faheem Ashraf 17
Kevin O’Brien c Imam ul-Haq b Mohammad Amir 40
Stuart Thompson b Shadab Khan 3
Tyrone Kane c Babar Azam b Shadab Khan 0
Gary Wilson Not Out 33
Boyd Rankin c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Abbas 17
Tim Murtagh c Imam ul-Haq b Shadab Khan 5
Extras 8b 1lb 0nb 0pen 1w 10
Total (47.2 overs) 130 all out
Fall of Wickets : 1-5 Joyce, 2-5 Balbirnie, 3-5 Porterfield, 4-7 O’Brien, 5-36 Stirling, 6-61 Thompson, 7-61 Kane, 8-73 O’Brien, 9-107 Rankin, 10-130 Murtagh
Bowling: Mohammad Amir 10 – 5 – 9 – 2 ( 1w), Mohammad Abbas 11 – 4 – 44 – 4, Rahat Ali 7- 0 18 – 0, Faheem Ashraf 5 – 2 – 18 – 1, Shadab Khan 13.2 – 3 – 31 – 3.

IRELAND 2nd innings
Ed Joyce Run Out Faheem Ashraf 43
William Porterfield c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Amir 32
Andrew Balbirnie lbw Mohammad Abbas 0
Niall O’Brien b Mohammad Amir 18
Paul Stirling lbw Mohammad Abbas 11
Kevin O’Brien Not Out 118
Gary Wilson c Haris Sohail b Mohammad Amir 12
Stuart Thompson b Shadab Khan 53
Tyrone Kane Not Out 8
Extras 1b 18lb 1nb 0pen 4w 24
Total (122.0 overs) 319-7
Fall of Wickets : 1-69 Joyce, 2-69 Balbirnie, 3-94 O’Brien, 4-95 Porterfield, 5-127 Stirling, 6-157 Wilson, 7-271 Thompson
To Bat : Murtagh, Rankin

Bowling: Mohammad Amir 25.2 – 8 – 57 – 3, Mohammad Abbas 25 – 9 – 54 – 2,
Rahat Ali 23 – 3 – 75 – 0, (2w), Faheem