In the game’s longest format, Saud Shakeel continued to dominate as he scored his third century in a Test match against Bangladesh. In the current first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, the southpaw struck an impressive 141 off 261 balls.
On the first day, with Pakistan at a dangerous 114/4, Shakeel was brought out to bat. Mehidy Hasan Miraz fired him on Day 2 after he demonstrated tenacity and perseverance by reaching the three-figure threshold. He and Mohammad Rizwan developed a 240-run marathon relationship. The vice-captain of Pakistan struck nine boundaries during his superb batting display.
After his heroics, Shakeel’s average significantly increased. Among batters who have played at least ten Test innings, the 28-year-old currently boasts the second-highest average.
Shakeel’s average shot up to an incredible 65.18 from 20 innings following his outstanding batting performance. He presently has a higher batting average than four of the greatest performers in modern cricket, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root.
Shakeel is ranked second in the rankings of all-time averages for batters who have played at least 20 innings, barely behind the incredible 99.94 average of the great Australian, Donald Bradman.
During his rough innings, Shakeel reached 1,000 Test runs. and became the joint fastest batter from Pakistan to reach the milestone, matching Saeed Ahmed’s record in the process. In 11 Tests and 20 innings, both reached this milestone. The Asian batter with the highest run total in the first 20 innings of a Test career is the one from Karachi.
Mayank Agarwal, Saeed Ahmed, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Vinod Kambli are the other Asian players who have scored 1,000 runs or more during this time.
Also Read: BAN vs PAK: Mohammad Rizwan becomes the fifth wicketkeeper hitter from Pakistan to score 150 or more
Prior to the game, Pakistan declared at 448/6 after Day 2’s leading scorer, Rizwan, amassed an undefeated 171. Day 2 ended with Bangladesh at 27/0 in 12 overs.
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