New Delhi:
Abid Ali, the 32-year-old Pakistan batsman, continues to create history in his international career. In the Rawalpindi Test, Abid Ali became the only male cricketer in history to have hit an ODI and Test century on debut. Abid had hit a century on ODI debut against Australia in Dubai earlier in the year. In women's cricket, Enid Bakewell of England scored 113 on Test debut vs Australia in 1968 and 101* on ODI debut vs an International Women's XI in 1973. In the Karachi Test, Abid scripted yet more history as he became the seventh player in history to have hit two centuries in his first two Tests. After he was trapped LBW by Lahiru Kumara for 38 in the first innings, Abid slammed a century and shared a partnership in excess of 200 with Shan Masood as Pakistan staged a fightback in the second and final Test in Karachi after conceding a lead of 80 runs.
Abid joins the likes of Australia's Bill Ponsford, Doug Walters, Greg Blewett, Indian duo of Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma, New Zealand's James Neesham and Alvin Kallicharan of the West Indies. Lawrence Rowe of West Indies and Pakistan's Yasir Hameed are the only cricketers to have hit a century in both innings of their debut Test while former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin is currently the only player in history to have hit a century in his first three Tests.
Ponsford hit 110 and 128 during the Sydney and Melbourne Tests against England in 1924 and 1925 while Walters hit 155 and 115 also against England in the Brisbane and Melbourne Tests of 1965. Blewett made a spectacular debut when he hit 102* and 115 against England in the 1995 Ashes series. Neesham of New Zealand hit 137 against India in Wellington in 2014 and followed it up with 107* against West Indies in Jamaica. Kallicharran hit 100* and 101 against New Zealand in the Georgetown and Port of Spain Tests in 1972. Ganguly, the current head of the BCCI, started his Test career with a bang as he smashed 131 and 136 against England in Lord's and Trent Bridge in 1996 while Rohit blasted 177 and 111* in Kolkata and Mumbai during the 2013 series against West Indies which was the farewell series for Sachin Tendulkar.
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Abid's ton, combined with Masood's century and a five-wicket haul from Shaheen Afridi have helped Pakistan recover after they were bowled out for 191 thanks to hauls of 4/49 and 4/17 from Lahiru Kumara and Lasith Embuldeniya. Sri Lanka managed a lead of 80 thanks to former skipper Dinesh Chandima's 74 and Dilurwan Perera's 48. The first Test in Rawalpindi, which was the first Test played in Pakistan after more than a decade, ended in a draw with rain ruining three out of the five days play.
