Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel’s batting average saw a significant boost following his impressive century against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi on Thursday. Shakeel’s innings in the first Test against Bangladesh elevated him to the second-highest batting average among current Test batters with a minimum of 10 Test innings.
In the first innings, Shakeel scored 141 off 261 balls, featuring nine well-placed fours. His knock came at a strike rate of 54.02. This performance raised his Test batting average to 65.17, placing him second among current Test batters with at least 10 innings. His average now surpasses those of cricketing greats like Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Virat Kohli, according to the ICC.
On the all-time average list, with a minimum of 20 innings, Shakeel is ranked second, just below the legendary Australian batter Donald Bradman, who boasts an extraordinary average of 99.94.
With this century, Shakeel has reached 1,000 runs in Tests in just 20 innings, equalling Saeed Ahmed’s record to become the joint-fastest Pakistan batter to achieve this milestone. Both players reached this mark in 11 Tests and 20 innings.
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In his 11 Tests and 20 innings, Shakeel has accumulated 1,108 runs at an average of 65.17, with a highest score of 208*. He has scored three centuries and six fifties in his brief but promising Test career.
Shakeel now holds the record for the most runs by an Asian batter in the first 20 innings of a Test career. Other Asian players who have reached 1,000 runs or more in this span include Mayank Agarwal (India), Saeed Ahmed (Pakistan), Cheteshwar Pujara (India), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), and Vinod Kambli (India).
In the match, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat first. Pakistan faced early struggles, falling to 16/3 with the loss of their top order, including skipper Babar Azam for a duck. Saim Ayub (56 off 98 balls, including four boundaries and a six) supported Shakeel with a 98-run partnership. Shakeel then formed a 240-run partnership with Mohammed Rizwan (171* off 239 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes) and a cameo from Shaheen Shah Afridi (29* off 24 balls, with one four and two sixes), taking Pakistan to a strong score of 448/6.
For Bangladesh, Hasan Mahmud (2/70) and Shoriful Islam (2/77) were the top bowlers. Bangladesh ended Day Two at 34/1.
(INPUTS WITH ANI)
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