Pakistan’s rising star Saud Shakeel did a historic feat: Pakistan’s young batsman Saud Shakeel recently created new history in the first Test match against Bangladesh. He not only scored the third century of his Test career but also equaled a 65-year-old record.
In this Test match being played in Rawalpindi, Shakeel played an important innings of 141 runs and put Pakistan in a strong position. Pakistan declared their first innings at 448/6, after which Bangladesh scored 27 runs without loss and the day’s play ended.
Saud Shakeel also completed his 1000 Test runs during this innings and joined the list of Pakistan’s fastest batsmen to reach this milestone.
He achieved this feat in 11 Tests and 20 innings and equaled the record set by Saeed Ahmed in 1959. With this achievement, Shakeel has become the joint-first batsman to score the fastest 1000 Test runs for Pakistan.
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Shakeel’s brilliant innings took his Test career average to 65.17, which is currently the second-highest average among batsmen who have played at least 10 innings in Test cricket.
He is only ahead of India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has an average of 68.53. He was also supported in this innings by veteran Mohammad Rizwan, who scored an unbeaten 171 and the two together shared a 240-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Pakistan’s team is currently ranked sixth in the World Test Championship rankings and is trying to stay with the top teams by securing maximum points in this match against Bangladesh. If Pakistan wins this match, it can strengthen its position for the World Test Championship final to be held at Lord’s next year.
Fastest Pakistan’s Men’s batters to 1000 Test runs
| PLAYER | TEST INNINGS |
| Saud Shakeel | 20 |
| Saeed Ahmed | 20 |
| Sadiq Mohammad | 22 |
| Javed Miandad | 23 |
| Taufeeq Umar | 24 |
| Abid Al | 24 |
| Abdullah Shafique | 24 |
Highest Men’s Test batting average – Current players (minimum 10 Test innings)
| PLAYER | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) | 68.53 |
| Saud Shakeel (Pakistan) | 65.17 |
| Harry Brook (England) | 59.75 |
| Steve Smith (Australia) | 56.97 |
| Kane Williamson (New Zealand) | 54.98 |
Source: ICC
