Pak vs NZ: Fawad Alam scores century, rewrites record books in New Zealand Test

• Fawad Alam made a brilliant 102 off 296 deliveries in the first Test.

• This is the second Test century for Fawad Alam, who debuted in 2009 against Sri Lanka and scored a century on his debut.
  

• He resisted the attack by New Zealand bowlers for around six hours and 36 minutes.

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Pakistan’s middle-order batsman Fawad Alam has garnered heaps of praises after he pulled off an interesting match against the Kiwis on Tuesday.

Alam, who scored a brilliant 102 off 296 deliveries, resisting the attack by New Zealand bowlers for around six hours and 36 minutes, added an important 165 for the 5th wicket with skipper Mohammad Rizwan.

This is the second Test century for Fawad Alam, who debuted in 2009 against Sri Lanka and scored a century on his debut.

However, he was dropped from the Pakistan team in November 2009 and made a comeback only in August 2020.

Although Pakistan couldn’t accomplish what it initially planned, Alam's persistence in the field and his on-point partnership with Rizwan was a ray of hope for Pakistani fans.

One of the longest stays on pitch

The batsman, who scored 102, stayed on the wicket for 396 minutes which is the longest stay on the wicket in the 4th innings of a Test by a Pakistani batsman outside Asia in the 21st century.

Asad Shafiq stayed on the wicket for 336 minutes in Brisbane against Australia in 2016.

On the other hand, Rizwan stayed on the wicket for 285 minutes, which is the longest stay by a Pakistani wicket-keeper in the fourth innings of a Test match.

Century after 11 years

Alam waited for more than 11 years and five months to reach the three-figure milestone - the longest ever wait for a player to score another Test century without a war in between.

Warren Bardsley of Australia had to wait for 14 years and India's Syed Mushtaq had to wait for 12 years – but both players witnessed World War I and World War II between their respective milestones.