In what was an entertaining show at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), tailender Aamer Jamal struck a fabulous 82 off 97 against Australia in the ongoing third Test on January 3 (Wednesday).
Jamal, who came to bat at No. 9 for Pakistan, counter-attacked the potent Australian bowling unit and enthralled the crowd with his outrageous strokeplay.
The 27-year-old came to bat when his side was reeling at 220/7. Soon it became 227/9 as Australia wanted to wrap up the innings as quickly as possible. However, Jamal proved to be the thorn for the hosts as he walloped his way to his maiden Test fifty.
If the Aussie pacers banged it short, Jamal didn't shy away from pulling it to the leg side. He even hit Nathan Lyon for a stupendous six by reverse-sweeping him over deep point.
Jamal was the sole reason why Pakistan managed to notch up a score over 300, as his 82 was more than a quarter of Pakistan's first-innings total of 313. His entertaining knock came to an end when he was caught at long-on off Lyon's bowling.
En route to his fifty, Jamal also made some records to his name. Here is a compilation of five such milestones that Aamer Jamal reached during his 82 vs. Australia in Sydney.
#5 Highest individual score by a visiting No. 9 batter at SCG
After all the carnage, Aamer Jamal was just a boundary away from breaking a 129-year-old record set by Albert Trott. In 1895, Trott scored 85* against England batting at No. 9 in Sydney while playing for Australia.
Had Jamal scored four more runs, he would've become the highest No. 9 individual run-scorer at SCG. However, among visiting batters, he now tops the list. Jamal's 82 is now the highest individual score by a visiting batter at SCG.
Jamal broke Harbhajan Singh's record, who made 63 off 92 against Australia in 2008.
#4 Second-highest tenth-wicket partnership for Pakistan vs Australia
Aamer Jamal and Mir Hamza worked in tandem to frustrate the Aussie unit and stitched up a partnership of 86 runs in 133 balls.
While Jamal was extremely aggressive, Hamza kept his wicket intact and negotiated 43 balls for his unbeaten seven.
Their 86-run stand is now the second-best 10th wicket partnership for Pakistan against Australia in Tests. The duo fell just a one run short of the 87-run partnership between Asif Iqbal and Iqbal Qasim in Adelaide in 1976.
#3 Joint-second-most sixes for Pakistan while batting at No. 9 in a Test innings
Jamal showed a great display of ruthlessness in his approach and smoked nine fours. He even smashed four lusty maximums during his innings, which is the joint-second-most for Pakistan while batting at No. 9 in a Test innings.
The record for the most sixes is currently with Wasim Akram and Noman Ali, both of whom hit five sixes while batting at No. 9 against India (in 1987) and Zimbabwe (2021), respectively.
With his four sixes, Jamal has joined the likes of Sohail Khan, Wasim Akram, Umar Gul, and Abdul Qadir on the list.
#2 Highest individual Test score by a subcontinent No. 9. batter in Australia
Another record that Aamer Jamal broke on Wednesday is of becoming the subcontinent batter with the highest individual Test score while batting at No. 9 in Australia.
Jamal's 82 runs surpassed his own countryman Wasim Bari's 72. Bari, while batting at No. 9, scored 72 against Australia in Adelaide in a Test in 1972.
For India, Kiran More scored 67* against Australia in Melbourne in 1991.
#1 First Pakistani to make a half-century and take a five-wicket haul in his debut Test series
Aamer Jamal is having a memorable ongoing Test series Down Under. In only his debut series, Jamal is fulfilling the all-rounder's role quite magnificently.
He is currently Pakistan's fourth-highest run-getter in the series with 125 runs at an average of 31.25 and has also taken 12 wickets (the most for Pakistan) at a bowling average of 23.08.
Interestingly, Jamal is now the first-ever Pakistani player to make a half-century and take a five-wicket haul in his debut Test series. He took his maiden Test fifer (6/111) in the first innings of the opening Test in Perth.
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