For Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, two stalwarts of Pakistani cricket, the third Test against West Indies in Dominica was a bittersweet moment. Misbah became the first Pakistani captain to win a Test series in the Caribbean. Two Tests earlier, Younis Khan became the first Pakistani batsmen to cross the magic figure of 10,000 runs in Tests. But for both, this series was the last bow.
“In the history books, my name will come with him. He’s a legend. He’s a top performer for Pakistan – 34 centuries and 10,000 runs. It’s something special that my name will come with him”, Misbah-ul-Haq said about Younis Khan, after his final day in international cricket.
Records may be made to be broken but the cricketing world is unlikely to forget Pakistan’s most successful batsman, Younis Khan and their most successful captain, Misbah-ul-Haq. A look at some of the numbers from their Test careers provide proof of why they were considered the pillars of Pakistan cricket during their playing days. We begin with Misbah:
Most runs after the age of 40
Misbah-ul-Haq scored 4214 runs as Pakistan captain from 56 Tests, which is the most by any Asian captain in Tests. There are not many players who have scored a century in Test cricket after turning 40 but Misbah scored five, the second-most by any player after turning 40. Apart from Sir Jack Hobbs, he is the only cricketer who has scored 2000-plus runs after turning 40.
Misbah is also the oldest captain to score a century in Test cricket. He scored a century at the age of 42 years and 47 days against England at Lord’s in 2016.
Most sixes by a captain
Misbah-ul-Haq hit 76 sixes in Test cricket after turning 35 which is the most by any player after crossing that age. He is the only batsman in Test cricket to hit 50-plus sixes after turning 35. Misbah’s 72 sixes as a captain in Test cricket is also a record. Brendon McCullum had hit 59 sixes in Tests which is the second most by any captain after Misbah-ul-Haq.
Misbah-ul-Haq’s 81 sixes in Test cricket are also the most by any Pakistani batsman.
Fastest fifty and century (By balls and minutes)
Misbah-ul-Haq holds the record of scoring the fastest fifty in Test cricket, in terms of both balls faced and minutes spent on the crease. He took 21 balls and 24 minutes to score fifty runs against Australia in a Test at Abu Dhabi in 2014 which is the fewest number of balls and minutes any player has taken to score a fifty in Test cricket.
In the same innings against Australia at Abu Dhabi, he completed his century in just 56 balls and 74 minutes which is the second-fastest, both in terms of deliveries and minutes.
Jack Gregory (70 minutes) holds the record of scoring the fastest century in terms of minutes in Test cricket while Brendon McCullum (56 balls) holds the record of scoring the fastest century in terms of deliveries faced.
Pakistan’s most stable captain
There are 31 players who have captained Pakistan at least once in Test cricket but Misbah-ul-Haq is the most successful. His stability index as a captain in Test cricket is 0.73 which is the best among all captains who have led Pakistan in at least 10 Tests.
Misbah-ul-Haq has led Pakistan to 26 Test wins but the interesting fact is that all these victories came outside Pakistan. His 26 Tests wins are also the most by a captain away from home in Tests. Clive Lloyd and Graeme Smith are at the second place in the list with 23 Tests wins away from home.
Not a great converter
Misbah-ul-Haq is the only player in the history of Test cricket to have three scores of 99. He scored 49 fifty-plus scores and converted only 10 of them into centuries. His conversion rate of 20.41 from 50s to 100s is the worst for any batsman with at least 10 Test tons.
Most runs from No 5
Only three players have scored more runs than Misbah-ul-Haq, while batting at No 5. His conversion rate from 50s to 100s may be the worst but his contribution, while batting in a difficult position, is immense. His 10 centuries in Test cricket also came batting at No 5.
And now, moving on to his ally in all these battles: Younis Khan.
Oldest player to score 10,000 runs
Younis Khan amassed 10,099 runs from 213 innings at an average of 52.05 which is the most by any Pakistani batsman. His 34 Test centuries are also a record among Pakistani players. The next best is 25 by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Younis Khan recently became the 13th player to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. He completed his 10,000 runs in 116 Tests. He is the third-fastest but oldest to achieve the landmark in Tests.
Almost no nervous nineties
Younis Khan is the only batsman in the world to have scored over 10,000 runs with only one score in the 90s. In 35 occasions, he has only missed a century once. Among batsmen who have scored at least 15 Test centuries, Younis Khan’s conversion rate from 90s to 100s is the second best. Only Don Bradman and Michael Vaughan have a better conversion rate.
Most centuries in the fourth innings
Younis Khan is in sixth place in the list of players who have scored the most runs in the fourth innings of a Test. Centuries do not come easily in the fourth innings but Khan has also amassed four centuries in the fourth innings which is a record. In total, Khan has scored 1465 runs from 40 innings while batting in the fourth innings. Sunil Gavaskar, Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Ramnaresh Sarwan are at the second place in the list with four centuries in the fourth innings in Test cricket.
All nine, all star
Younis Khan is the only Pakistani batsman to score a Test century against all nine Test playing nations. He is also the oldest (36 years and 372 days) to have at least a century against them. The landmark was achieved on October 22, 2014. The other batsmen who have achieved the same feat in Test cricket are Gary Kirsten, Steve Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Marvan Attapatu, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis and Kane Williamson.
And titans together
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq also have the record of scoring the most runs together and the most century stands for Pakistan in Test cricket. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq have added 3213 runs from 53 innings together with 15 century partnerships. No other pair has had more than 10 century stands for Pakistan in Test cricket.
