PAK vs ENG: Imam-ul-Haq achieves milestone in Test cricket

Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq has completed 1000 runs in Test cricket during the first match of the ongoing series against England on Friday.

The left-hander scored a brace on the first delivery of the 18th over, which was bowled by Will Jacks, to achieve the milestone in his 17th Test match.

Imam has two hundreds and four fifties in the longest format of the game, so far.

The 26-year-old has also featured in 54 ODIs and two T20Is for Pakistan over the course of his career.

Earlier, resuming at 506-4, England added 151 runs in 125 minutes in the extended two-and-a-half-hour session, with Harry Brook taking his overnight score of 101 to 153 — one of four centurions in the innings.

Skipper Ben Stokes (41), debutant Liam Livingstone (nine) and Brook were all dismissed by pacer Naseem Shah, who finished with 3-140.

Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood conceded 235 for his four wickets — the most by a bowler on a Test debut.

Previously, Sri Lankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv conceded 222 against India in Colombo in 2010.

England´s total is their highest against Pakistan in all Tests, improving on their 589-9 at Manchester in 2016.

On Thursday England became the first team to score 500 runs on the opening day of a Test match, bettering Australia´s 112-year-old record of 494-6 against South Africa in Sydney.

Zak Crawley (122), Ollie Pope (108) and Ben Duckett (107) were the other centurions in the innings.

The three-match Test series is England´s first in Pakistan for 17 years.

Four players are making their debut for Pakistan in the ongoing Test match, which includes pacers Haris Rauf and Mohammad Ali, leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood and batter Saud Shakeel.

This is the first time after 2003, against Bangladesh in Karachi, that Pakistan have handed Test caps to four players in a single match.

During the Bangladesh Test nearly two decades ago, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Shabbir Ahmed and Yasir Hameed made their debut for the national side. 

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