The end of an 83-innings wait

Stats highlights from an eventful third day in Abu Dhabi, when Misbah-ul-Haq scored a rare century, and South Africa hurtled towards a huge defeat

S Rajesh

16-Oct-2013

Misbah-ul-Haq defends on the off side, Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 1st Test, 3rd day, Harare, September 5, 2013

Misbah-ul-Haq's century is his fourth in Tests, and in all international cricket. His previous one was in May 2011, against West Indies in Basseterre, and the two before that were in 2007, in successive Tests against India in 2007. Between his last two centuries, Misbah played 83 innings in all international cricket, and passed fifty 25 times, without once getting to a hundred.

Among batsmen with at least fifty 50-plus scores in all international cricket, Misbah is the only one with less than five centuries. Jonty Rhodes has five centuries and 50 fifties, while everyone else has more than five centuries.

Misbah is also the first Pakistan captain to score a Test century against South Africa. The previous highest by a Pakistan captain was 99, by Saleem Malik in Johannesburg in 1995, while Inzamam-ul-Haq scored an unbeaten 92 in Port Elizabeth in 2007.

Misbah was 39 years and 139 days old at the start of this Test, which makes him the oldest Test centurion in almost 20 years. The last player older than him to make a Test hundred was Graham Gooch, who scored 210 against New Zealand in June 1994 when he was 40 years and 314 days old.

Pakistan's first-innings lead of 193 is their highest in a Test against South Africa, and the second time they have led South Africa by more than 100 in the first innings. The only previous such instance was at Port Elizabeth in 2007, when Pakistan scored 265 in response to South Africa's 124. Pakistan won that Test by five wickets.

Jacques Kallis' duck - the 15th of his Test career - meant he scored only five runs in the match, his fourth-lowest aggregate in a Test in which he has been dismissed twice. He bagged a pair - the only one of his Test career - against Sri Lanka in Durban in 2011, 0 and 1 against New Zealand in Wellington in 2004, and 0 and 2 against Australia in Port Elizabeth in 1997. These are the only four times he has been dismissed in both innings and has aggregated less than ten runs in a Test.

Pakistan have a 3-11 win-loss record in Tests against South Africa, with two of their wins coming in South Africa - in Durban in 1998, and in Port Elizabeth in 2007. Their only other win was in Lahore in 2003, almost exactly ten years ago.

South Africa go into the fourth day requiring 121 runs to avoid an innings defeat. If they fail to score those runs, it'll be only their third innings defeat since the beginning of 2007: they lost by an innings and 98 against England in Durban in 2009, and by an innings and 57 against India in Kolkata in 2010.

Misbah-ul-Haq Pakistan South Africa South Africa vs Pakistan South Africa tour of United Arab Emirates

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. Follow him on Twitter