Pakistan openers record 50th hundred-run partnerships in Test cricket

DUBAI: Experienced batsman Mohammad Hafeez, playing Test cricket after a long absence of two years, made a remarkable comeback with a brilliant century when Pakistan began the two-Test ‘home’ series here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

He made 126 off 208 balls, hitting 15 fours, before being given out leg before to fast-medium bowler Peter Siddle to take the total to 222-2 during the final session.

This was Hafeez’s tenth Test hundred, and the first against Australia, as he earlier scored three hundreds against Bangladesh, two against New Zealand and one each against England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He never played any Test against India during his 51-Test career.

Hafeez holds the record of scoring the most runs and centuries as an opener with 3,465 runs and 10 centuries. Only Saeed Anwar has more centuries as Pakistan opener than Hafeez.

This is Hafeez’s second consecutive hundred in the United Arab Emirates as he scored 151 against England at Sharjah in 2015. The veteran allrounder, who turns 38 this month, has hit most of his ten Test centuries in the UAE: four – two at Sharjah and one each at Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Hafeez averages 55.27 in the UAE.

He along with young batsman Imam-ul-Haq made 205 runs for the first wicket partnership, which is the second highest opening stand by a Pakistan pair against Australia.

The 22-year-old Imam’s individual contribution was a career best 76, his second half-century in the fourth Test. His first fifty was scored on his Test debut – 74 not out against Ireland in May this year.

Hafeez and Imam marched on undefeated to tea but Imam departed after the break when off-spinner Nathan Lyon got him caught behind by captain Tim Paine.

Their 205-run partnership is now Pakistan's fifth-highest opening stand in the history of Test cricket and also the fifth opening stand of 200 or more runs with 298 being the highest, scored by Aamer Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed against West Indies at Karachi in December 1997.

Interestingly, the Hafeez-Imam stand is Pakistan’s 50th opening wicket century partnership in Test cricket.

Hafeez also shared the Pakistan record of the most number of hundred-run opening stands with Taufeeq Umar as both did it for five times, followed by Majid Khan and Sadiq Mohammad (four times).

Five pairs did it thrice each. They were Rameez Raja & Shoaib Mohammad, Aamer Sohail & Saeed Anwar, Imran Farhat & Salman Butt, Imran Farhat & Taufeeq Umar and Mohsin Khan & Mudassar Nazar.

The pairs who did it twice each were Hanif Mohammad & Imtiaz Ahmed, Hanif Mohammad & Alimuddin, Aamer Sohail & Rameez Raja, and Azhar Ali & Sami Aslam.

Besides, 18 pairs set the partnerships of hundred or more runs for the first wicket in Test cricket. Two of these pairs also included Hafeez, who shared once with Ahmed Shehzad and now the country’s 50th opening stand with Imam.