Colombo July 27 2023 : Pakistan batsman, Saud Shakeel, brought up his seventh half-century on the third day of the ongoing second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Colombo. This feat has made Shakeel the first batter in Test history to score a fifty in each of the first seven Tests.
Shakeel has surpassed the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Basil Butcher, Saeed Ahmad, and Bert Sutcliffe, who scored fifty or more runs in each of his first six matches.
He came to the crease when Pakistan was standing at 210-3 in the first innings, in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings score of 166. He departed after scoring 57 runs, but his partnership with Abdullah Shafique helped Pakistan extend their first innings lead over 150.
Earlier, in the first Test in Galle, the 27-year-old also created history by becoming the first Pakistani batsman to achieve a double century on Sri Lankan soil.
His outstanding innings of 208 not out surpassed the previous highest individual Test score by a Pakistani batter in Sri Lanka, held by Mohammad Hafeez (196).
Furthermore, Shakeel became only the second Pakistani batsman, following Zaheer Abbas against England in 1971, to achieve a double century in the first away Test match of a series. This accomplishment adds to his growing list of achievements.
