Mohammad Rizwan (left) and Rishabh Pant. (Picture Credit: AP, ANI)
Rizwan remained unbeaten on 171 runs in the first innings and scored 51 runs from 80 balls in the second innings for Pakistan in the first Test against Bangladesh.
Star Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan scored 171 runs in the first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi and followed it up by making 51 runs in the second innings on Sunday (August 25) during the fifth and final’s day play. By amassing a total of 222 runs across two innings in the series opener played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rizwan created a new record.
The 32-year-old now sits in the No. 1 position on the list of wicketkeeper-batters who have managed to score the most runs in one World Test Championship match. The previous record was held by India’s Rishabh Pant, who scored 203 runs in the rescheduled Test played against England at Edgbaston in July 2023.
In that match, Pant had scored 146 runs in the first inning and 57 in the second, but like Rizwan, he had also failed to help India avoid defeat.
Rizwan, who top-scored for Pakistan in both innings of the first Test, which the Shan Masood-led side lost by 10 wickets in Rawalpindi on Sunday, earlier broke Jos Buttler’s record (152) of most runs in one innings of a WTC match by a wicketkeeper-batter.
The century and half-century in the series opener against the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side also helped Rizwan break the 44-year-old record and take No. 1 position in the list of wicketkeeper-batters to score the most runs in a Test match for Pakistan. Before him, the record was held by Taslim Arif, who scored 210 runs in the match played against Australia in Faislabad in 1980.
1st ever defeat vs B’desh in Tests
The 10-wicket loss in the first Test played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is Pakistan’s first-ever defeat in 14 red-ball matches played against Bangladesh so far. Pakistan, which conceded a 117-run lead in the first innings, failed to produce a good show with the bat in the second innings, and despite Rizwan’s fifty, they could only muster 146 runs in 55.5 overs, which resulted in a 30-run target for Bangladesh to chase down in the fourth innings of the match, and the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side achieved the objective in 6.4 overs without losing a wicket.