Stats - Abid Ali and Shan Masood rewrite record books
Statistical highlights from Pakistan's batting efforts against Sri Lanka in Karachi
Bharath Seervi
21-Dec-2019
278 - The opening partnership between Abid Ali and Shan Masood, which is the second-biggest for Pakistan in Tests. The only bigger stand is 298, by Aamer Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed against West Indies in Karachi in 1997. In fact, the top-three opening stands for Pakistan have all come at Karachi's National Stadium.
2 - Number of higher opening stands in the third innings of Tests than the one between Abid and Masood in this Test. The highest is 312 between Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal against Pakistan in Khulna in 2015.
0 - Number of bigger opening stands against Sri Lanka than the 278-run partnership between Abid and Masood. The previous biggest was 255 between Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer in Cairns in 2004.
3 - Instances of both Pakistan openers scoring centuries in the same Test innings. The previous one was back in 2001 when Saeed Anwar and Taufeeq Umar scored hundreds against Bangladesh in Multan.
9 - Number of batsmen to score centuries in their first two Tests. No Pakistan batsman had achieved before Abid. However, Pakistan's Yasir Hameed scored centuries in both innings on debut and Wajahatullah Wasti scored hundreds in both innings of his second Test, making it two hundreds in their first two Tests.
321 - Abid's run tally after his first three Test innings (109*, 38 and 174) - the most by a Pakistan batsman after three innings and the third-most overall. Tip Foster leads the list with 355 runs, followed by Lawrence Rowe (336).
Bharath Seervi is stats sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo @SeerviBharath