It is extremely unusual for two batsmen to share a century partnership in both innings of a Test. This feat was first performed in Sydney in December 1924 when the famous England opening opening pair of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe added 157 runs for the first wicket in England’s first innings and then followed it up with 110 in the second. Sadly, their efforts were in vain as Australia still won the match with ease.
In the long history of Test cricket so far there have been only 52 instances of a pair of batsmen playing together to build century partnerships in both innings of a Test match. Pakistan, England and India have reached this distinction on nine occasions each. South Africa are next with seven.
The first time that a Pakistani pair reached this milestone was in the home series against New Zealand in 1976. The third Test at Karachi was the scene of many records. Pakistan took first strike and Majid Khan, in a scintillating display of sublime stroke-play scored a century before lunch, the first batsman to do so in a Test for 46 years. Then, the captain Mushtaq Mohammad and the find of the series, Javed Miandad, put together a 252-run stand for the 4th wicket, with Miandad becoming the youngest double centurion in Test history with a knock of 206. Mushtaq, meanwhile, made 107, his second century in successive Tests. In Pakistan’s second innings this pair again flayed the Kiwi attack, adding 138 runs for the fifth wicket as Pakistan stepped up the tempo to give themselves enough time to bowl New Zealand out on the final day. Taking risks to score quickly, Miandad missed his second century of the match by only 15 runs, while Mushtaq remained unbeaten on 67. On the last day, the Kiwis managed to just hold out for a draw against a Pakistani attack weakened by Sarfaraz Nawaz’s absence due to illness.
It was almost a quarter of a century later when another Pakistani batting pair managed this feat. The opposition was again New Zealand, in a Test at Auckland in March 2001. Younis Khan with a brisk 91 in two and a quarter hours, and Faisal Iqbal with 42, got together in a 5th wicket stand of 132 in Pakistan’s first knock. In their side’s second innings they did even better, with an unbroken partnership of 147 runs for the 6th wicket. Younis made 149 not out from just 182 balls while Faisal remained unconquered on 52. Pakistan won the match handsomely with a winning margin of 299 runs. This game was the first Test played on a drop-in pitch in New Zealand. The venue was the renowned Eden Park of Auckland, a multi-purpose stadium where Test cricket co-exists with international rugby.
Two and a half years later this feat was repeated by another Pakistani batting duo in a home Test against South Africa at Lahore in October 2003. Opening for Pakistan, Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar got their team off to a century start in both innings of this Test. Together, they put on 109 runs in the first innings before Imran was dismissed for 41, while Taufeeq managed 111 before losing his wicket. In Pakistan’s second outing the opening partnership between these two produced 134 runs, with both batsmen scoring fifties. This was the first time, and so far the only occasion, when this milestone of a century partnership in both innings of a Test had been reached by a pair of left-handed batsmen. What makes it even more unique is that, in fact, they are both ambidextrous, batting left-handed while bowling with their right hand. Their efforts in this match played a big role in enabling a comfortable 8-wicket Pakistani victory, their first Test win against South Africa at home. Interestingly, Imran and Taufeeq also put up another century partnership in the first innings of the next Test, against South Africa at Faisalabad, thus making it three Test century partnerships in a row for the opening wicket by the same pair.
In January 2006, versus India at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Younis Khan once again featured in a similar feat. This time his partner was Mohammad Yousuf. In a high scoring drawn Test, Younis and Yousuf knitted together a stand of 142 runs for the 3rd wicket with both players contributing fifties. Their partnership in the second innings was even more productive and yielded 242 runs for the 3rd wicket, with Younis making 194 and Yousuf 126. In fact this was the third successive century stand between these two, who had already put together a third wicket partnership of 319 in Pakistan’s only innings in the previous Test of the series at Lahore. This big century by Younis was his sixth fifty-plus score against India in the last seven innings for a total aggregate of 974 runs in this purple patch, at an average of 162.33 per innings. This remarkable run included a double century, two scores in the 190s, a 147 and two scores of 80-plus, figures that would make even Don Bradman blush.
In 2011, five years after the last occasion, Younis Khan was involved yet again in this unusual feat. Playing against New Zealand at Wellington, in Pakistan’s first innings Younis and Misbah ground down the Kiwi attack in a patient 142 runs partnership for the fourth wicket that took over 50 overs. Both batsmen scored fifties with Misbah, unfortunately, being dismissed just one run short of what would have been a well deserved hundred. In Pakistan’s second innings this pair came together on the fifth day with Pakistan wobbling at 42 for 3, in quest of a target of 274. They resurrected the innings and added 118 invaluable runs before Younis fell at the stroke of the tea interval for 81. Pakistan applied the shutters after this dismissal and played out the final session without attempting to force the pace, as the match meandered to a draw with Misbah unbeaten on 70.
Pakistan played Australia in their adopted home of the UAE in the winter of 2014 and outplayed the Aussies in every department of the game. In the 2nd Test in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan batted first and put up a huge total of 570 for 6 declared with centuries from Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq. Younis scored a double century and his 3rd wicket partnership with Azhar realized 236 runs. In Pakistan’s second innings Younis and Azhar toyed with the Aussie bowling attack and added 131 runs together as Pakistan scored at nearly five runs an over to reach a total of 293 for 3 declared. Another statistical landmark was reached when Azhar and the captain Misbah both made centuries in this innings as well to add to their hundreds in Pakistan’s first knock. Pakistan triumphed in this Test by a comprehensive margin of 356 runs, their biggest Test win ever in terms of runs. The century by Younis in the first innings was his third consecutive Test hundred against Australia, a feat last performed against the Aussies 90 years ago by Herbert Sutcliffe in the Ashes series of 1924-25.
When Pakistan toured Bangladesh in 2021, in the first Test at Chattogram, the Pakistani openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafiq had an opening partnership of 146 which formed the major portion of the team’s first innings total of 286. In Pakistan’s second outing this opening pair again proved to be the bedrock of their side’s batting. They put on 151 runs together in 42.5 overs as Pakistan coasted to an easy 8-wicket win, an anticlimactic ending to what had been a keenly fought contest until tea on the fourth day. Abid Ali narrowly missed a century in each innings when he was trapped leg-before for 91 in Pakistan’s second knock. Abdullah Shafiq, who was making his Test debut, greeted the occasion with a fifty in both innings, the fifth Pakistani player to do so on Test debut.
Just over three months later another Pakistani opening pair repeated this feat. Playing against Australia on home turf at Rawalpindi in March 2022, Abdullah Shafiq and Imamul Haq began with a 105 run opening stand as Pakistan mounted a tally of 476 runs for the loss of 4 wickets before declaring. The game was already heading for a certain draw when Pakistan began their second innings on the fourth day. Playing with effortless ease on a lifeless track, Imam and Abdullah Shafiq scored an unbeaten 252 runs before the two captains agreed to shake hands and conclude the proceedings of a drawn match. Imam answered his doubters with a hundred in each innings, becoming only the third Pakistani opener ever to do so. This Test also provided the first instance of three hundreds by the Pakistani openers in a Test match and marked only the eighth time in cricket history when the opening batters of any team had been able to do this.
The last time that a Pakistani batting duo put together a century partnership in both innings of a Test was in January 2023, when Sarfaraz Ahmed and Saud Shakeel became members of this exclusive club, against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. Coming together with Pakistan’s score on 182 for 4 they stitched together a stand of 150 runs in the first innings before Sarfaraz was stumped for 78. Saud Shakeel remained unbeaten on 125 in his side’s total of 408 all out. In Pakistan’s second innings the pair added 123 runs for the sixth wicket, with Sarfaraz scoring a career best 118. The match ended in a tantalizing draw when bad light stopped play with three overs still left, with Pakistan needing just 15 runs for victory and their last wicket at the crease. Interestingly, this was the first Test series that Sarfaraz was playing on home ground in Pakistan despite being a veteran of 49 Tests prior to this rubber.
It is noteworthy that Younis Khan has been involved in four of the nine occasions in which a Pakistani batting pair has posted a century partnership in each innings of a Test. No other individual player from any country has done this so frequently, with AB de Villiers being the next batsman in line having reached this milestone thrice. Pakistan won 4 out of these 9 Tests and drew 5.
Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.
salmanfaridilnhhotmail.com