Pakistan’s memorable draw against Australia in Karachi featured several records being broken by a resilient batting display.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Abdullah Shafique were at the forefront of a herculean effort that saw Pakistan draw the game after accruing a massive 408 run deficit in the first innings.
Here is a list of the most noteworthy stats from a highly entertaining game:
Team:
- 171.4 overs faced by Pakistan is the second-most a team has faced in the 4th innings of a drawn test match. Pakistan’s batting lineup faced 1030 balls. Only England has faced more overs against South Africa in 1939 at 218.2 8-ball overs which comes out to a staggering 1746 balls.
- Pakistan’s 408 run deficit in the first innings was the fifth-highest run difference in the first innings in a match that ended in a draw behind England’s 563 runs lead in Kingston in 1930.
- 171.4 overs is the longest Pakistan has batted in the 4th innings of a test match. Their previous best was 145 overs in Brisbane in 2015.
- 443-7 also becomes Pakistan’s second-highest 4th innings total behind 450 runs in the Brisbane Test.
- 228 run partnership for the third wicket between Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique is the second-highest in terms of runs by Pakistan in the 4th innings behind Younis Khan and Shaan Masood’s 242 against Sri Lanka.
- 2 losses by Pakistan out of 44 tests in Karachi, which is equal to 4.54 percent, is the lowest loss percentage for a team at a single venue.
Babar Azam:
Babar Azam was instrumental in securing Pakistan’s memorable draw against Australia. Not only did his brilliant innings leapfrog him above India’s Virat Kohli in the ICC’s Test Rankings, but it also added numerous records to annals of cricketing history.
- 196 by Babar Azam is now the highest score by a captain in the 4th innings of a test match surpassing Michael Atherton’s 185* in Johannesburg against South Africa in 1995.
- 603 minutes Babar Azam spent on the crease is second only to Atherton’s 643 minutes in the aforementioned test.
- Babar’s 196 is the highest score by a Pakistani batter in the 4th innings of a test match overtaking Younis Khan’s 171* effort against Sri Lanka.
- 196 also happens to be the highest 4th innings score by any batter against Australia surpassing Sangakarra’s 192.
- 196 is the seventh-highest 4th innings score by any batter ever.
- 425 balls Babar faced is the highest number of deliveries faced by a Pakistani batter in tests besting Shoaib Malik’s 369 balls.
Rizwan:
- Mohammad Rizwan’s test century was the second instance of a wicket-keeper from Pakistan scoring a ton in the 4th innings of a test after Moin Khan.
Mitchell Swepson:
- Swepson’s figures of 156 without a wicket are the third worst for a bowler on debut. He trails Adil Rashid (163-0) and Zafar Gohar (159-0).
- 156 runs in an innings also happen to be Australia’s second worse figures in an innings on debut behind Jason Krejza’s 215.
