Mohammed Hafeez and Azhar Ali set up a new record of highest ever stand against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka by adding 287 for the second wicket in Pakistan’s first innings on the second day of the second Test at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo on Sunday (July 1). Michael Hussey and Shaun Marsh who added 258 runs for the fourth wicket at Pallekele in 2011-12 held the previous record. The 287-run stand was Pakistan’s second best second wicket stand in Test cricket after Zaheer Abbas and Mushtaq Mohammed’s 291-run stand against England at Birmingham in 1971. Fawad Alam and Younis Khan’s 200-run stand was the previous best second wicket stand for Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Azhar equalled his personal best in Test by making 157 off 295 balls. He also scored the same number of runs in 533 minutes off 442 balls against England at Dubai in 2011-12. Hafeez became only the second batsman to miss the double century after making 190 runs against Sri Lanka. The first to miss double hundred after scoring 190 was India’s Azharuddin who made 199 at Kanpur in 1986-87. Hafeez made 196 while Azhar scored 157. It was first time since the infamous Karach Test in 2008-09 that two Pakistani batsmen reached 150 in the same innings. In Karachi Test against Sri Lanka, Younis made 313 in 760 min off 568 balls while Kamran Akmal scored an unbeaten 158 in 247 min off 184 balls.
HIGHEST 2nd WICKET STAND FOR PAK IN TESTS
Runs Batsmen Opponent Venue Season
291 Mushtaq Mohd/Zaheer Abbas England Birmingham 1971
287 Azhar Ali/Mohammad Hafeez Sri Lanka Colombo 2012
262 Ijaz Ahmed/Saeed Anwar New Zealand Rawalpindi 1996-97
250 Mudassar Nazar/Qasim Umar India Faisalabad 1984-85
246 Hanif Mohd/Saeed Ahmed India Mumbai 1960-61
233 Mohsin Khan/Qasim Umar Australia Adelaide 1983-84
211 Ijaz Ahmed/Saeed Anwar Australia Peshawar 1998-99
200 Fawad Alam/Younis Khan Sri Lanka Colombo 2009
