Pakistan vs Australia, 1st Test: Day One- Statistical Highlights

Pakistan took the opening day honours of the first Test against Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Sarfraz Ahmed’s decision to bat first turned out to be a good one as comeback man Mohammad Hafeez and Imam-ul-Haq set the platform for a big score with a 205-run stand.

Nathan Lyon broke the stand by dismissing Imam for 76. Hafeez, however, went on to complete a fine ton on his comeback. The right-handed batsman scored 126 before falling to Peter Siddle who too was making his comeback. Jon Holland then dismissed Azhar Ali for just 18 to help Australia finish off a tough day on a good note.

Pakistan vs Australia, 1st Test: Day One- Statistical Highlights
Pakistan vs Australia (Credits: Getty)

With the first day done and dusted, we take a look at some interesting numbers and statistics:

1. The 205-run stand between Mohammad Hafeez and Imam-ul-Haq was Pakistan’s fifth double-century stand in Tests. Their last double-century stand came when Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam added 215 against West Indies at the same venue.

Pakistan vs Australia, 1st Test: Day One- Statistical Highlights
Pakistan vs Australia (Credits: Getty)

2. Since November 2010 Pakistan have had 13 century opening stands. This is the third most for any team. Australia and England lead the list.

3. This was the first time Australia conceded a double-century opening stand against Pakistan. They last conceded it in 2013 when Indian openers M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan added 289 in Mohali. Overall, the opposition openers have shared a double-century against Australia on ten occasions.

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4. Australia were wicketless for the first 60 overs of the innings. This is the longest Australia have gone wicketless in a Test since 2000. In 2002, they took the first wicket in the 67th over against England during the second innings of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2010.

Pakistan vs Australia, 1st Test: Day One- Statistical Highlights
Pakistan vs Australia (Credits: Getty)

5. Mohammad Hafeez has now scored four centuries in UAE and also the second consecutive one in the country. The right-hander averages 55.27 in the UAE.

6. Hafeez now has scored 3465 runs as an opener and 10 centuries. Only Saeed Anwar has more centuries as Pakistan opener than Hafeez.

7. Aaron Finch made his Test debut after playing 135 international games. He is second in the list of players who played most number of international games before their first Test. India’s Rohit Sharma leads the list as he made his debut after 144 games.

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