Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 2019: 1st Test – Abid Ali's record hundred on debut, Babar’s maiden Test ton at home, Sri Lanka's opening stand and more stats

The first-ever Test in Pakistan in more than a decade was cut short by bad light and rain as the match hosted by Rawalpindi ended in a draw. As few as 167 overs were possible in the match out of which 75.3 overs were played on the final day itself. Sri Lanka, who elected to bat first, declared their innings on 308/6 on the final morning after Dhanajaya de Silva completed his century. Abid Ali (109*) and Babar Azam (102*) treated the home fans with centuries before the match was called off when they were 252/2 in their first innings.

All the statistical highlights from the Rawalpindi Test match which ended in a draw:

A losing streak ends:

6 – This drawn match brought an end to Pakistan’s losing streak of six matches in Test cricket; their joint-longest losing streak in Tests. They also lost six Tests in a row during the 2016/17 season.

Pakistan now has spent seven successive Tests without a win; their 2nd longest winless streak in Test cricket since 1991. Pakistan went 12 consecutive Tests between January 2007 and December 2009 without a win.

The record debutant:

1 – Abid Ali became the first player in Men’s International history to score a century on debut in two different formats. He scored 112 on his ODI debut against Australia in Dubai this year and an unbeaten 109 in this Test match. In Women’s International cricket, England’s Enid Bakewell achieved this feat in 1973 itself. She scored 113 against Australia Women in 1968 on Test debut and 101* against International XI in 1973 on ODI debut.

12 – Abid Ali became the 12th player to score a century on Test debut for Pakistan. The last of the previous 11 players was Umar Akmal in 2009 during the Dunedin Test against New Zealand. Abid is the 5th player to score a Test ton on debut for Pakistan while opening the innings.

2003 – The last player before Abid Ali to score a hundred on Test debut for Pakistan in Pakistan was Yasir Hameed in the 2003 Karachi Test against Bangladesh. Hameed struck tons in both innings of that Test and became only the 2nd player with twin tons on Test debut.

Babar’s maiden Test ton at home:

16 – Babar Azam is now one of the 16 players from Pakistan to score a century in both Tests and ODIs in Pakistan. The last of the previous 15 was Younis Khan who completed this double in 2008.

A big partnership to start the game:

96 – The opening stand of 96 between Dimuth Karunaratne and Oshada Fernando is the highest opening stand for Sri Lanka in the first innings of a Test match in Pakistan. The previous highest was 81 by C Hathurusingha and Roshan Mahanama in the 1992 Faisalabad Test.

Overall, the 96-run stand is Sri Lanka’s 2nd highest opening partnership in Tests on the Pakistan soil. Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya added 117 for the first wicket during the 3rd innings of the 2004 Karachi Test.

96 – This 96-run stand is the 2nd highest opening stand that Pakistan conceded in the first innings of a Test match since 2011. Australian opening pair of David Warner and Matt Renshaw put on 151 runs in the first innings of the 2017 Sydney Test.