Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test, Day 1 - Stats: Misbah equals Imran and Younis' world record

After giving Pakistan a major scare in the pink ball Test at Dubai, West Indies entered into Abu Dhabi hopeful of putting up another spirited showing during the second match. However, as conventional timings returned, normal service also resumed with the Pakistani batsmen doing what they do best – grind opposition bowling attacks in the desert heat by taking advantage of those particularly flat pitches.

Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and would have had a tinge of frustration as both openers fell rather cheaply. However, veteran Younis Khan celebrated his comeback from dengue fever with a fluent century while Asad Shafiq and the skipper himself joined in on the run feast. West Indies’ bowlers struggled to strike regularly on a placid surface as Pakistan ended the day at a comfortable 304/4.

Here are some of the interesting numbers from the opening day of the second Test.

0 – Tests lost by Pakistan at Abu Dhabi. They have played 8 matches at this venue with 4 victories and as many draws.

2 – In terms of innings/century ratio, Younis’ 5.88 is the second best after Bradman’s astonishing 2.76.

4 – Test centuries for Younis at Abu Dhabi which is the joint-most by a batsman at a venue without scoring a fifty alongside Don Bradman at Leeds, Vijay Hazare at Brabourne (Mumbai) and Geoffrey Boycott at Leeds.

6 – Shafiq became the sixth fastest Pakistani batsman to complete 3000 Test runs. While he has taken 75 innings to get to the landmark, Javed Miandad (67), Mohammad Yousuf (67), Saeed Anwar (68), Younis (70) and Majid Khan (72) all got there quicker than him.

13 – Number of Test hundreds for Younis Khan after turning 35 which is the most by any batsman in history. Graham Gooch, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had scored 12 centuries after 35.

31 – Consecutive Test tons for Younis without being dismissed in the 90s which is the most by any batsman. Bradman had scored all of his 29 centuries without being dismissed even once in the 90s.

33 – Test centuries for Younis. Interestingly, he has scored only 30 fifties which shows his high conversion rate.

40 – Total number of hundreds for Younis across all the three formats (33 in Tests and 7 in ODIs). The experienced campaigner has now scored the most international centuries for Pakistan after he went past Yousuf’s 39 tons.

48 – Tests captained by Misbah which is the joint-most in Pakistan history. The 42-year old has equaled the legendary Imran Khan’s record in this match.

61 – Sixes hit by Misbah which is the most by a captain in Tests. The right-hander eclipsed Brendon McCullum’s previous record of 59 maximums.

3156 – Test runs scored in partnerships by Younis and Misbah. Their batting combination became the most prolific for Pakistan after they overtook Younis/Yousuf and Inzamam ul Haq/Yousuf.