Pakistan’s Azhar Ali made his county championship debut a one to remember with a superb century for Somerset in their clash against Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road on Tuesday.

The Pakistan batsman struck a fluent 125 on day three to help Somerset set a mammoth target of 443 to win for Worcestershire in their second innings.

Azhar scored 125 off just 188 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and two sixes in the second division clash and was the last man dismissed before Somerset declared their second innings at 362-9.

“I’m really happy. It is my first game for Somerset and I’ve been made welcome,” Azhar told Somerset’s website after the match.

“Moeen (Ali) started to turn the ball out of the rough so I thought attacking him early on was the right option because if you are bogged down, they can bring a short leg into play so, I had to go after him to start with,” the Pakistan man said while reflecting on his innings.

“We wanted to score runs as well to be in a position to boss the game. That is why I played positively and it paid off,” explained Azhar, who was eventually dismissed by Moeen Ali himself.

Somerset had signed Azhar recently as a replacement for Matt Renshaw after the Australia opener broke his finger. The opener had been eyeing a deal in county cricket since Pakistan toured England earlier this May for a two-match Test series.