Starting a Test career in cricket with a century has always been a singular honour. It has been achieved by 109 Test cricketers of whom 12 are Pakistanis.Khalid ‘Billy’ Ibadullah was the first Pakistani batsman to achieve this landmark. The Australian team visited Karachi for a single Test match in October 1964 and Ibadullah was making his first appearance for the national side.

As a 16 year old, he had been picked as a replacement for an injured player on Pakistan’s inaugural tour of India in 1952, but had not played in any Tests. He had settled in England and qualified to play for Warwickshire in the county championship.

Now, after a twelve year gap he was back playing for his country. He opened the Pakistan batting with another Test debutant Abdul Kadir, who was also Pakistan’s wicket-keeper for the match. The two put on 249 runs for the first wicket before Kadir was needlessly run out for 95. Ibadullah himself was dismissed off the last ball of the day for a fluent 166 which included 20 boundaries. Not only did Ibadullah become the first Pakistani to score a hundred on test debut, but his stand of 249 with Kadir established a new record for the highest partnership between two Test debutants, a mark that is unbeaten even today. Ibadullah’s opening Test was his 217th first-class match. This is the longest any Pakistani first-class cricketer has had to wait for his Test debut.

New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan in 1976, coincided with the arrival of a precocious young talent called Javed Miandad. Described by the Cricket Board President Abdul Hafeez Kardar as the find of the decade, Miandad announced his arrival on the international stage in an electrifying partnership of 281 with Asif Iqbal for the fifth wicket on the opening day of the first Test at Lahore. Outplaying his senior partner, Miandad raced to his hundred in just 149 minutes and was eventually dismissed for 166. He was only 19 years and 119 days old and was the youngest centurion on Test debut at the time.

Miandad’s record was overtaken some five years later by another Pakistani batsman, Salim Malik. Playing against Sri Lanka at Karachi in March 1982, Saleem was dismissed cheaply in the first innings for 12. However, in Pakistan’s second knock Saleem partnered his captain Miandad in a 162 runs stand for the 4th wicket and remained unbeaten on 100. He was only 18 years and 323 days old and became the youngest debutant to score a Test hundred. This record would stand for 19 years.

Mohammad Wasim became the next Pakistani to score a century in his Test debut match. Playing against New Zealand at Lahore in November 1996, Wasim was dismissed without scoring in the first innings after a four ball stay. He made amends in the second innings, with an unbeaten innings of 109, that took Pakistan from 60 for 6 to 231 all out. Wasim’s efforts were, however, in vain as Pakistan lost a close match by 44 runs.

South Africa, on their return to international cricket, made their inaugural tour of Pakistan in 1997. The first Test was played at Rawalpindi and Pakistan had a new opener in Ali Naqvi. In the face of a fierce South African pace bowling attack, including Alan Donald, Naqvi stood firm and reached a maiden hundred on his Test debut. However, despite Naqvi’s knock of 115, Pakistan were still in dire straits at 231 for 8. Another test debutant, the all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, now took the attack to the South African bowlers and in partnership with Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed guided Pakistan to a commendable total of 456 all out. The last two wickets had put on 225 runs, and the last wicket stand of 151 runs between Azhar and Mushtaq equaled the world record for the time. Azhar remained unbeaten on 128. This was the first instance in Test history that two Test debutants from the same side had both scored centuries in the same innings. This record remains unmatched even today.

Rawalpindi was again the venue for Pakistan’s next century on Test debut. The batsman this time was Younis Khan. He had been trapped lbw for just 12 in the first innings as Pakistan were bowled out for merely 182. Sri Lanka replied with 353 to lead by 171. In their second outing Pakistan fared better but Sri Lanka still had them on the ropes at 236 for 8. A remarkable ninth wicket stand of 145, between Younis Khan and Wasim Akram, gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope as they reached a final total of 390, with Younis the last man out for a defiant and tenacious 107. Sri Lanka needed 221 to win, and despite the absence of Wasim Akram from the attack through injury, Pakistan gave Sri Lanka a real scare by reducing them to 177 for 8, before Ranatunga and Kaluwitharana saw them just sneak over the victory line.

In August 2001 Pakistan met Bangladesh at Multan, in a match which was part of the Asian Test Championship. After bowling out Bangladesh for a paltry 134, Pakistan put up a massive total of 546 runs for 3 wickets declared, scoring at almost five runs an over. This included a century on test debut by Pakistan’s new opener Taufeeq Omar, who made 104. Taufeeq was the first left-handed Pakistani debutant to notch up a century in his initial Test. His opening partner Saeed Anwar also got a hundred, and this was the first occasion in Test history where two left-handed openers had both scored a century in the same innings. Interestingly there were five individual centuries in the Pakistan innings, a feat that had only been achieved once previously, by Australia against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1955.

In August 2003, Pakistan were playing Bangladesh at Karachi, when another batsman entered the record books with a century on Test debut. Yasir Hameed scored a scintillating 170 off just 253 deliveries with 25 boundaries in Pakistan’s first innings. It was the highest score by a Pakistani making his first Test appearance. He followed this with another exhilarating display of stroke making in the second innings, as he made his second century of the match. His knock of 105 from just 161 balls made him only the second debutant in Test cricket history, after the West Indian Lawrence Rowe, to start his Test career with a century in each innings.

Fawad Alam became the second Pakistani left-hander to score a hundred on Test debut when Pakistan played Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2009. Fawad scored only 16 in the first innings as Pakistan were skittled out for just 90. However, he led Pakistan’s fight back in the second innings with a remarkable innings of 168. Opening the batting for just the second time in his first-class career, he raced to 50 off 67 balls, and his entire innings spanned just 259 deliveries. This was also the first occasion when a Pakistani batsman had scored a Test debut century abroad.

The nineteen year old Umar Akmal made an immediate impact when he first played for Pakistan against New Zealand at Dunedin in November 2009. He started with a four to the third man boundary off the first ball he faced in Test cricket and brought up his fifty from just 57 balls. A four, six and a four off four deliveries from O’Brian got him to a hundred from 131 balls, with 16 fours and 2 sixes. When he was finally dismissed for 129, he had faced just 160 deliveries, and hit 21 boundaries and 2 sixes. His second innings in the match displayed a more somber side of his game, and he defended skillfully for 75 as Pakistan fell just 32 runs short of the winning target that they had been set. Umar’s match tally of 204 runs was the second highest ever by a Test debutant in a losing cause. Only Ranjitsinhji with 216 versus Australia in 1896 had managed more.

The twelfth, and latest, Pakistani batsman to score a century on Test debut is Abid Ali. He is also the oldest batsman in this list having crossed the age of 32 when he played his first Test for Pakistan versus Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi in December 2019, and scored 109 not out in Pakistan’s only innings a rain curtailed match. Earlier in the year Abid had scored 112 in his ODI debut against Australia in Dubai. He thus became the first batsman in the game to score a century in both his test and ODI debuts. Abid followed his first Test century against Sri Lanka with another in the next match of the series. His 174 in the second innings of the second test at Karachi made him the first and only Pakistani to score a century in his first two Tests for the country.

One of Pakistan’s Test debut centurions also achieved the rare distinction of scoring a century in his 100th test as well. Javed Miandad, who had begun his Test career with a sublime hundred against New Zealand in 1976, scored 145 against India in 1989, in his 100th Test appearance for the country. He was the first batsman ever to achieve this feat. Lahore had the privilege of being the venue for both these Tests.

While twelve Pakistani batsmen have made a hundred in their initial Test, only one has concluded his career on this note. Saeed Anwar’s century in his last Test innings against Bangladesh at Multan in 2001 epitomized his style. His 101 came from just 104 balls, full of graceful and elegant shot-making and studded with seventeen effortless fours and a six.

This Test, however, had a sad ending. Saeed’s three year old daughter Bismah, passed away on the last day of the game. This match became Saeed’s swan song, and his final innings a wonderful epilogue, as he bid goodbye to Test cricket, leaving us with delightful memories of an unmatched repertoire of exquisite strokes.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com