Abdullah Shafique, the Pakistan Test opener, notched his fifth Test century with a six off England’s Jack Leach’s bowling during Day 1 of the Pakistan vs England Test match in Multan on October 7 (Monday). Shafique's century followed Pakistan captain Shan Masood's hundred, who also notched up his fifth Test ton in the ongoing PAK vs ENG Test. The pair put together a commanding 254-run partnership, helping Pakistan establish early dominance in the Test, before Shafique was eventually dismissed.
Shafique, 24, was batting on 94 when England’s left-arm spinner Jack Leach bowled a tossed-up delivery and Shafique danced down the pitch of the ball and smacked it over the mid-on region for a maximum to bring up his fifth Test century in 165 balls.
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Notably, this century came as Shafique’s first in over a year’s time with his last Test hundred being against Sri Lanka in Colombo back in 2023. This century also ended Shafique’s 10-Tests long century drought.
Watch Abdullah Shafique reach his century milestone with a six here:
Shafique-Masood Comiple Pakistan's 4th-Highest Second-Wicket Test Partnership
Pakistan lost their first wicket early as opener Saim Ayub fell after scoring only four runs. Masood came to the crease and along with Shafique, forged a partnership of 253 runs, which is now the fourth-highest second-wicket partnership for Pakistan in Tests. Soon after amassing a hundred, Shafique lost his wicket at 102 to England's Gus Atkinson and shortly after, Shan Masood too lost his wicket after scoring 151 runs.
Highest 2nd wicket partnerships for Pakistan in Tests
1. 291 - Mushtaq Mohammad & Zaheer Abbas vs ENG, Birmingham, 1971
2. 287 - Azhar Ali & Mohammad Hafeez vs SL, Colombo, 2012
3. 262 - Ijaz Ahmed & Saeed Anwar vs NZ, Rawalpindi, 1996
4. 253 - Abdullah Shafique & Shan Masood vs ENG, Multan, today*