Pakistan vs Australia, 2nd Test Stats Review: Babar Azam breaks series of records on final day as another Test ends in draw

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam played an outrageous inning of 196 runs off mammoth 425 deliveries which included 21 classy fours and one six on the fifth and final day of the second Test match against Australia in Karachi. Babar’s miraculous innings and Mohammad Rizwan’s century helped Pakistan in achieving a second consecutive draw of the series with one match left. Wicketkeeper batter Rizwan remained unbeaten at the end on 104 runs off 177 balls.

Speaking about how the dramatic final day unfolded, captain Babar shared a stellar partnership of 228 runs off 520 deliveries with Abdullah Shafique. They both registered the second-highest partnership for Pakistan in the fourth innings of a Test. Meanwhile, the star of the day Babar recorded his highest Test score of 196. His previous best was 143 against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in the year 2020. Babar also smashed the highest Test score by a captain in the fourth innings of Test cricket. He leapfrogged Michael Atherton who had slammed 185* against South Africa in 1995.

Babar kept Aussie bowlers toil hard on the final day as the Pakistani skipper looked in no mood to throw his wicket away. Unfortunately, he did fall short of a spectacular double century by just four runs. Team Pakistan also achieved their second-highest score of 443/7 in the final innings of Test matches. For the visitors, Nathan Lyon did snare four wickets and brought some hope in the Aussie camp but Rizwan made sure he was there till the end to force a draw for his side.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from Pakistan vs Australia, 2^nd Test:

 1 – Babar Azam registered his highest Test score (196). His previous best was 143 against Bangladesh in 2020.

1 – Babar recorded the highest Test score for Pakistan in the fourth innings. He surpassed Younis Khan who notched up 171* against Sri Lanka in the year 2015.

3 – Usman Khawaja scripted his third-best score (160) in Tests.

1– Azam now holds the record for the highest Test score (196) by a skipper in the fourth innings. Michael Atherton is on second for his 185* against South Africa in 1995.

425 – Babar has now also faced the most balls (425) for Pakistan in the last innings of a Test match. He surpassed Shoaib Malik’s number of 369 which he faced against Sri Lanka in 2006.

305 – Shafique faced 305 balls and scored 96 runs. He became the Pakistan batter to face fifth most balls (305) without scoring a century in a Test inning.

196– Classy Babar also registered the best score by a player in the fourth innings against Australia. He went past Kuma Sangakkara’s score of 192 against the Aussies in Hobart in 2007.

3 – Babar recorded the third-best Test score (196) by a Pakistani captain against Australia. Saleem Malik scored 237 and Javed Miandad 211 in 1994 and 1988 respectively.

443/7 – Pakistan scripted their second-best fourth innings score (443/7). Their highest is 450 against Australia in Brisbane in 2016.

3 – Babar also registered the third-best score (196) by a Pakistani captain in Tests in Karachi. Younis Khan scored 313 against Sri Lanka in 2009 and Javed Miandad 211 against Australia in 1988.

228 – Shafique and Babar also scripted the second-highest partnership (228) for Pakistan in the fourth innings of a Test. Shan Masood and Younis Khan top the list for scoring 242 against Sri Lanka in 2015.

4 – Pakistan also achieved the fourth highest score (443/7) by a team in the final innings of the Test in the 21^st century.

520 – Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam faced the most balls (520) by a pair in the fourth innings of a Test. They went past Deep Dasgupta and Rahul Dravid’s tally of 500 balls against South Africa in 2001.

1– Shafique and captain Babar now hold the record for the highest partnership (228) in the last innings of a Test in Pakistan. They went past Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar’s tally of 212 against New Zealand in 1984.

1 – Babar’s score of 196 is the highest by a Pakistani player in the fourth innings in Pakistan. He leapfrogged Inzamam-ul-Haq’s score of 138* against Bangladesh in Multan in 2003.

1 – Babar and Shafique also shared the most balls (520) for the third wicket partnership in the fourth innings.