With a hard fought 89 and a 124-run sixth wicket stand with Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq would’ve surely soothed the nerves in the Pakistan team and eased the pressure off Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. Abhijit Banare looks at Shafiq’s fluent run at No 6.
It could all have ended late on Day One. Nathan Lyon was pitching it in the footmarks and Asad Shafiq was busy going forward and withdrawing from the shot at the last moment. Twice the ball stuck him outside the line and replays showed that it would have crashed in to the stumps. Australia were unlucky that their review was turned down and a few balls later they hesitate from using another one. The second leg-before call was much closer than it looked. Shafiq had crawled to nine.
He lived to tell the tale and came back next morning only to be gifted another reprieve by Alex Doolan From thereon, along with Misbah-ul-Haq, he steered Pakistan’s innings ahead. Of the 29 Tests he has played, Shafiq has spen 27 of his matches at No 6.
The numbers show that Shafiq is well on his way to be Pakistan’s most successful batsman at No 6. He is a mere 229 runs short of the record. Shafiq would be happy to notch up this record soon. In a year or two, he would definitely find himself batting two or at least one position higher with the veterans Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq progressing in the last phase of their career.
It’s always important to have someone down the order who can anchor the innings. For a long time, Pakistan were overly reliant on Younis and Misbah. You can figure that out when the opposition bowlers specifically mention these two names as their target (in this case it was Peter Siddle). With Shafiq emerging as a consistent batsman and Azhar Ali up the order displaying some good performances, Pakistan have a lot to look forward to.
Shafiq had established his quality with a determined innings against South Africa under pressure at this same venue a year ago. Staring at an innings defeat, Shafiq’s 130, 411-minute stay at the crease delayed the inevitable but gave some respectability to Pakistan as they went down. It also showed his technical solidity at the crease and ability to soak in pressure and bat long. As the numbers show below, after the likes of Asif Iqbal and Saleem Malik, Shafiq establishes himself as one of the finest No 6 batsman for Pakistan.
Top five run-scorers for Pakistan at No 6 in Test cricket
Batsman
M
R
Ave
Asif Iqbal
31
1750
43.75
Saleem Malik
35
1591
56.82
Asad Shafiq
27*
1521
41.10
Wasim Raja
29
1197
33.25
Imran Khan
21
928
61.86
*Figures updated after Asad Shafiq’s first innings against Australia in the 1st Test at Dubai.
Pakistan can take draw immense confidence from this batting performance. They have managed to find the reliable batsmen for almost all the positions. Barring an opener for Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali at No 3, Younis, Misbah followed by Shafiq and Sarfraz make for a solid batting. Not to forget the key role Sarfraz has played at No 7. Ask Australia the value Adam Gilchrist provided by giving them the boost down the order. A consistent run in this series would put Pakistan’s batting back on track at least in the longest form of the game.
(Abhijit Banareis a reporter at CricketCountry. He is an avid quizzer and loves to analyse and dig out interesting facts which allows him to learn something new every day. Apart from cricket he also likes to keep a sharp eye on Indian politics, and can be followed on@AbhijitVirgo)
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