Newcomer Kamran Ghulam, who has been brought in as the replacement of star batter Babar Azam at number 4 on batting line-up, proved his selection advantageous for Pakistan as he slammed a debut century on day one of the second Test against England at Multan Cricket Stadium.
The right-handed batter clinched some incredible records after playing a top innings that repulsed pressure on his side built by England bowlers by getting two key wickets in less than 10 overs.
He played a crucial innings to pull out his side from crisis after early blows as the visitors removed Abdullah Shafique (4) and skipper Shan Masood (3), dimming hopes of the hosts to reach a reasonable score on the opening day of second Test.
Aiming to keep his side alive in the first innings, the 29-year-old took charge and guided the hosts to 168 alongside Saim Ayub until the latter went back to the pavilion with an individual score of 77 before the tea break.
Kamran, after fortifying Pakistan’s innings with Ayub, achieved another milestone by scoring his debut hundred off 192 balls containing nine fours and one six.
It made him the 13th Pakistani batter who smashed a ton on debut after Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Muhammad Waseem, Ali Naqvi, Azhar Mahmood, Younis Khan, and Taufeeq Umar.
The rare feat was also achieved by Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, and Abid Ali.
Amongst Pakistani debut centurions, Yasir Hameed was the only batter who scored a ton in both innings.
Subsequently, Kamran also became the second Pakistani to score a debut century while batting at number 4 — which is considered to be the most important batting position in Test cricket.
The only other Pakistani to score a debut century at 4 was Malik in 1982.
There are only five batsmen in Test history who made their debut at 4 and scored centuries. The last one to reach three figures on such an occasion was Aminul Islam of Bangladesh in 2000.
Nawab Pataudi senior 1932, Gundappa Viswanath 1969, Frank Hayes 1973 and Malik in 1982 are others in history to do so.
With Kamran’s contributions, Pakistan ended day 1 play at 259/5 on the opening day of the 2nd Test being played at Multan Cricket Stadium as the Masood-led side eye comeback in the three-match Test series against England after losing the series opener by an innings and 47 runs.
Following the humiliating defeat, Pakistan have dropped out-of-form batter Azam and frontline pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah and brought in Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, fast bowler Mohammad Ali, off-spinner Sajid Khan and Kamran.
