File Photo. Arif Ali—AFP
Batsman becomes eighth Pakistani to achieve 5,000 runs in Test format
Consistent Pakistan middle-order batsman Azhar Ali completed 5,000 runs in the longer format during the third day’s play in the first Test against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
The 32-year-old became the eighth Pakistani batsman to reach the milestone in his 61st Test, when he took a single to reach a personal score of 32.
Ali made his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s in Pakistan’s neutral venue series in England in 2010 and has since been a consistent performer with the bat. He became the first century maker in a day-night Test during his epic triple hundred against the West Indies in Dubai last year. He scored 1,198 runs in 11 Tests in 2016, also including a fighting double hundred against Australia at Melbourne.
Younis Khan is the leading Test run-getter for Pakistan, with 10,099 runs in 118 Tests.
Below is a list of Pakistani batsmen who scored 5,000 or more runs in Test cricket (under Test and runs):
Younis Khan, 118 Tests, 10,099 runs
Javed Miandad, 124 Tests, 8,832 runs
Inzamam-ul-Haq, 119 Tests, 8,829 runs
Mohammad Yousuf, 90 Tests, 7,530 runs
Salim Malik, 103 Tests, 5,768 runs
Misbah-ul-Haq, 75 Tests, 5,222 runs
Zaheer Abbas, 78 Tests, 5,062 runs
Azhar Ali, 61 Tests, 5,000 runs