PAK vs NZ, 1st Test: On the occasion of 'Boxing Day' Pakistan are taking on New Zealand in the first Test of the two-match home series in Karachi. Both New Zealand and Pakistan are in dire need of redemption as they have lost four consecutive Test matches and they will eye this series as a shot at redemption. Pakistan faced a massive heartbreak at the hands of Ben Stokes and his mighty English Test side. Before this match, England defeated Pakistan by a margin of 3-0 and Babar Azam became the first Pakistan captain to lose four consecutive matches on home soil.
New Zealand are touring Pakistan with their new skipper Tim Southee who has taken over the skipper's hat from Kane Williamson. Southee will certainly look to start his era with a series win and better New Zealand's standings in the World Test Championship rankings. Pakistan won the toss and they decided to bat first in the first Test match. Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood, Pakistan's first two batters were stumped and this is a feat that has never been achieved in Test cricket before. Irrespective of whatever happened at the other end, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam kept on batting and now he has scored a sublime ton. On his way to a historic hundred, Babar Azam also broke numerous records and one of them has been standing for 16 long years.
Records that Babar Azam broke:
Babar Azam has now become the Pakistan batsman with the most runs in a calendar year across all formats. This record was previously held by Mohammad Yusuf who had scored 2435 runs in 2006. The Pakistan skipper now has 2477 runs in 44 matches across all formats. Babar certainly got past his half-century in no time and he now holds the record for most scores of 50 or more in a calendar year. Babar with his 25th 50+ score has now surpassed Ricky Ponting who scored 24 50+ scores in 2005. Irrespective of Pakistan's fortunes in the longest format of the game, Babar has managed to amass a total of 1000 runs in nine matches. He is the fourth batter to achieve this feat in 2022.
Pakistan XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Agha Salman, Nauman Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Mir Hamza
New Zealand XI: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee (c), Ish Sodhi, Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel
