Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal on Sunday made history by becoming the third Pakistan debutant pair to score a century in Test cricket.
The duo added 104 runs for the second wicket in the first innings of the opening Test against Bangladesh, joining an exclusive list of Pakistanis that remained unchanged for more than two decades.
Before their attempt, only two Pakistani debutant pairs had achieved this feat. In 1964, Khalid Ibadullah and Abdul Qadir put together a 249-run opening stand against Australia in Karachi.
Next came in 2003 against Bangladesh, also in Karachi, when Mohammad Hafeez and Yasir Hameed put on 134 runs for the second wicket.
Awais and Fazal are now part of a rare feat that is remarkable in the wider history of Test cricket as well. Their partnership is the 14th time two debutants have scored a century in a Test match.
The composure they displayed in the crease, their shot selection and the stability they brought after an early wicket all underlined the maturity of their first outing at international level.
List of century partnerships between debutants in Test cricket
- RA Duff and WW Armstrong (Australia) – 120 against England in 1902
- RE Foster & AE Relf (England) – 115 against Australia in 1903 for England
- G Gunn & J Hartstaff (England) – 113 runs against Australia in 1907
- GA Headley & FI De Keirs (West Indies) — 142 against England in 1930
- FI de Caires & JED Sealy (West Indies) — 124 against England in 1930
- Khalid Ibadullah & Abdul Qadir (Pakistan) – 249 against Australia in 1964
- DL Houghton & A Flower (Zimbabwe) — 165 against India in 1992
- KJ Arnott & GW Flower (Zimbabwe) — 100 against India in 1992
- RT Ponting & SG Law (Australia) — 121 against Sri Lanka in 1995
- Mohammad Hafeez & Yasir Hameed (Pakistan) – 134 against Bangladesh in 2003
- Tamim Iqbal & Junaid Siddiqui (Bangladesh) – 161 against New Zealand in 2008
- KJ O’Brien & SR Thompson (Ireland) — 114 vs Pakistan in 2018
- NE Bonner & KR Meyers (West Indies) — 216 vs Bangladesh in 2021
- Azan Awais & Abdullah Fazal (Pakistan) – 104 runs vs Bangladesh in 2026
Byzan Lakhani
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