Saud Shakeel played a crucial unbeaten knock to help Pakistan survive an early collapse in the first innings of the opening Test match against Bangladesh on Wednesday. Shakeel also completed 1,000 runs in Test cricket to become Pakistan's joint-fastest cricketer to achieve this remarkable feat.
Playing in his 20th Test innings, Shakeel needed just 33 runs to complete 1000 Test runs. He matched the former cricketer Saeed Ahmed's record for the fastest to 1000 Test runs for Pakistan who achieved it in 1959 and also beat the likes of Javed Miandad and Sadiq Mohammad.
Shakeel made his international debut in an ODI game against England in July 2021 and his Test debut against England in Rawalpindi in December 2022. He quickly established himself in the red-ball team with consistently impressive performances. He has scored 1024 runs in 20 Test innings at an average of 64.00 with the help of two centuries and seven fifties so far.
Fastest to 1000 Test runs for Pakistan
- Saud Shakeel - 20 innings
- Saeed Ahmed - 20 innings
- Sadiq Mohammad - 22 innings
- Javed Miandad - 23 innings
- Taufeeq Umar - 24 innings
- Abid Ali - 24 innings
- Abdullah Shafique - 24 innings
The 28-year-old left-handed batter came batting after Pakistan lost their third wicket in the form of Babar Azam on just 16 runs on the scoreboard. Shakeel and Saim Ayub added 98 runs for the fourth wicket to drag Pakistan from a shocking start to a fighting total of 158/4 in 41 overs at the end of Day 1's play which was delayed due to a wet outfield.
Ayub departed after scoring fifty but Shakeel displayed a brilliant batting to stay unbeaten on 57 runs off 92 balls. Pacers Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam picked two wickets each for the visiting side but spinners struggled to impress on Day 1.
