"We would like to draw it and yes, it is possible. It's Day Three tomorrow and cracks might open up. But the pitch still should be okay. However, it will require some good, solid batting," said Whatmore at the end of the day.

"We lost three wickets which is not an ideal situation. It was very unfortunate to lose that last wicket. The two boys (Nafees Iqbal and Aftab Ahmed) who got out before that were very young so in some ways they can be excused but that last wicket was very costly I think," the coach added.

Whatmore said that the unusually aggressive batting by opener Javed Omar, who cracked five fours in his 45 not out, was not part of the team plan but thought it was a positive move.

"The plan was to get a start and bat a long time. Javed was very confident today but the way he played was his personal strategy."

The Australian also justified the decision to send two 19-year-olds Nafees and Aftab to bat in the first three considering their potential.

"That's okay. We feel they have got potential. I understand that there would be some frustration with inexperience but they are worthy of going through that frustration because they are going to be good players."

Whatmore thought that debutant Aftab was one for the future.

"Some of the shots he played showed that he has got some class. He certainly got what it takes. He just needs to get it right in his head a bit more."

Stand-in skipper Khaled Mashud stressed on the need to remain aggressive without getting reckless.

"I would prefer the batsmen to be positive in their approach like Javed was today because going into a shell I believe will not be an ideal strategy for us. Javed has to carry on and he will need to find another reliable partner. Tomorrow is a vital day and we have to bat it out if we want to go for a draw."