Numbers special: Pakistan’s 7000-run club

Tags: Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan, Mohammad Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf

Published on: Sep 13, 2013

On Wednesday, Pakistan stalwart Younis Khan became only the fourth batsman from his country to cross the 7000-run mark in Test matches. Khan achieved this feat on the second day of the second Test at Harare as Pakistan began slowly but solidly in their reply to Zimbabwe’s first innings score of 294.

On Wednesday, Pakistan stalwart Younis Khan became only the fourth batsman from his country to cross the 7000-run mark in Test matches. Khan achieved this feat on the second day of the second Test at Harare as Pakistan began slowly but solidly in their reply to Zimbabwe’s first innings score of 294. The ongoing Test against Zimbabwe is Khan’s 84th. He currently averages an impressive 52 with 22 hundreds and 27 fifties. Khan’s career best score of 313 came against Sri Lanka at Karachi in February 2009. In contrast, he has also registered a duck on 15 occasions in his career. Here’s a look at the three other Pakistan legends who have 7000 plus runs to their credit.

Javed Miandad: No surprises here. The Pakistan great heads the list with 8832 runs from 124 matches. Miandad averaged 53 during the course of his long and fruitful career and notched up 23 centuries and 43 half-centuries as well. Miandad’s highest Test score was a magnificent 280 not out against his much-loved opponents, India, at Hyderabad (Sind) in January 1983. Courtesy Miandad’s exceptional knock, Pakistan won the Test by an innings and 119 runs and went 3-0 up in the six match series. Another measure of Miandad’s greatness can be gauged from the fact that he was out for a duck only six times in a career spanning 189 innings.

Inzamam-Ul-Haq: The former Pakistan skipper is second on the list. Inzamam played a total of 119 Tests between 1992 and 2007, scoring 8829 runs at an average of 50 with 25 hundreds and 46 fifties. He made his highest Test score of 329 against a hapless New Zealand bowling attack at Lahore in May 2002. The knock saw Pakistan thrash the Kiwis by an innings and 324 runs. Inzamam registered a total of 14 ducks in 198 innings. In spite of his massive achievements, Inzamam is often unfairly targeted for being an underachiever. His figures are on par with Miandad’s in every aspect. Perhaps, it is only an indication of how highly the talent of Inzamam was rated in world cricket.

Mohammad Yousuf: This exceptionally gifted batsman hasn’t played a Test for Pakistan in three years, and perhaps will never ever play for the country again, owing to his various disputes with the board. Yet, he remains as high as number three as far as Pakistan’s highest Test run-getters are considered. In a total of 90 Tests, from 1998 to 2010, Yousuf amassed 7530 runs at an average of 52 with 24 hundreds and 33 fifties. His highest Test score of 223 came against the Englishmen at Lahore in November 2005. Yousuf’s magnificence helped the hosts win the Test by an innings and 100 runs, and it also enabled Pakistan to lift the three-match series 2-0. Having featured in 156 innings, Yousuf registered 11 ducks. Had he played on longer for his country he could easily have overhauled Miandad’s record. Unfortunately for Pakistan, that did not turn out to be the case.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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