Pakistani star batter Saud Shakeel created history with his splendid double century on Day 3 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday (July 18). Shakeel became the only Pakistani batter to whack a Test double century in Sri Lanka. While replying to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 312, Shakeel cracked a brilliant double ton to steer Pakistan from a precarious 101/5 to a commanding 461 in the first innings. Shakeel remained unbeaten on 208 off 361 riding on 19 fours.
Shakeel's unbeaten 208-run knock surpassed the previous highest individual Test score by Pakistani batter in Sri Lanka which was held by Mohammad Hafeez (196) and Younis Khan (177). This exceptional feat also made Shakeel the 23rd Pakistani batter to belt a double century in Tests.
Not just this, in another milestone the 27-year-old became the eighth batter to smash a double hundred on Sri Lankan soil. Shakeel joined the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Joe Root, Chris Gayle, Stephen Fleming, Mushfiqur Rahim, Virender Sehwag and Brian Lara who have earlier achieved the milestone.
After losing the top four batters including skipper Babar Azam cheaply, it was Shakeel who launched a fightback and put Pakistan on top. However Shakeel survived hiccups on the scores of 93 and 139 but that didn't deter his resilience as he continued to pester Sri Lankan bowler and helped Pakistan cross the 450-run mark. He weaved a crucial 177-run partnership with Agha Salman who too dazzled with an impressive 83 off 113. The sixth-wicket pair scripted another record for Pakistan in Tests against Sri Lanka as they leapfrogged the previous best of 173-run partnership which Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq stitched back in 2017 in Dubai.
Moreover, Shakeel also holds the record for the most runs (788) by a Pakistani batsman after just 11 Test innings. His run tally of 788* places him ahead of Abdullah Shafique (720) and Javed Miandad (654) in this category. This is not the end to Shakeel's record saga as he became only the second Pakistani batter, following Zaheer Abbas against England in 1971, to achieve a double century in the first away Test match of a series.
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