PAK vs SA, 2021: 1st Test, Day 2 – Fawad Alam's record hundred, South Africa's toss streak and more stats

Pakistan turned the tables on the 2nd day of the Karachi Test to be leading by 88 runs before going to stumps. The home team bowlers did a good job to keep the South Africans down to 220. In reply, Pakistan were 27/4 on the evening of the first day but came back strongly on 2nd day. Fawad Alam starred with a fighting 109-run knock while Azhar Ali (51), Mohammad Rizwan (33) and Fahim Ashraf (64) played around him. They ended the 2nd day with 308/8 on the board after scoring 273 runs for the loss of 4 wickets through the day.

Here are all the statistical highlights from the first two day’s play in the PAK vs SA Test match in Karachi:

End of South Africa’s losing streak at tosses:

9 – South Africa winning the toss in Karachi was the first instance for them in the last ten Test matches. This is the longest toss losing streak of South Africa in Test cricket as they lost nine in succession during 1999-2000 and also during 2008-2009.

Fawad’s record hundred:

1 – Fawad Alam became the first player from Pakistan to convert each of his first three fifties in Test cricket into hundreds. Fawad scored 168 on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2009, smashed 102 against New Zealand in last year’s Boxing Day Test and now had struck 109 in Karachi. Fawad’s highest Test score other than the three hundreds is only 29.

Pakistan’s collapse and rescue act:

27/4 – Pakistan’s score of 27 is the lowest at the first of 4th wicket in an innings during a home Test since the 21/4 against England in the 2012 Abu Dhabi Test. This is also Pakistan’s lowest in Pakistan since they were reduced to 13/4 by India in the first innings of the 2006 Karachi Test.

2009 – The last instance before this game where Pakistan had 50+ partnerships for the 5th, 6th and 7th wickets in the same Test innings was during the 2009 Colombo Test against Sri Lanka. The first innings in Karachi was Pakistan’s 11th instance of 50+ stands for 5th, 6th and 7th wickets in the same Test innings.

Pakistan gets an old debutant:

34y 111d – Nauman Ali, at the age of 34 years and 111 days, became the 4th oldest player to make Test debut while representing Pakistan. He is also the oldest player to debut for Pakistan in this format in the last six years.

Only Miran Bakhsh (47y 284d vs India in Lahore 1955), Zulfiqar Babar (34y 308d vs South Africa in Abu Dhabi 2013) and Mohammad Aslam (34y 177d vs England in Nottingham 1954) were older than Nauman by the time of their Test debut representing Pakistan. Amir Elahi was 44 years and 45 days old when he made his maiden Test appearance for Pakistan in 1952 after playing one Test for India in 1947.

Rain of wickets on opening day:

14 – As many as 14 wickets fell during the first day at the National Stadium in Karachi; the joint-most on first day’s play of a Test match in Karachi. A total of 14 wickets fell on the first day of Pakistan-India Test match in 2006 at this venue. Only once more than 14 wickets fell on the first day of a Test match on Pakistan soil – 15 wickets in 1996 Lahore Test between Pakistan and New Zealand.