Even as Pakistan are not playing many Test matches, their captain Shan Masood is making every possible effort to keep himself relevant. Masood smashes the fastest double century by a Pakistani batter, eclipsing legendary Inzamam-ul-Haq’s record set way back in 1992.
Pakistan last played a Test match in October this year and is scheduled to play their next game in the format in August 2026. During this period, the Test specialists in the country will have to stay relevant in the domestic circuit to get picked after eight months. Their Test captain Shan Masood is doing just the same and making his bat do the talking in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament. He smashed a double century for his team and broke Inzamam-ul-Haq’s long-standing record in first-class cricket.
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, led by Masood, locked horns against Sahar Associates in the opening game of the tournament. By the end of Day 3, the Sui Northern side were on the cusp of registering a massive innings victory with their opponents collapsing to a modest total.
After being invited to bat first, Shan Masood and his men made merry with the captain himself leading from the front to notch up a staggering 216 off just 200 deliveries with 28 fours and two sixes to his name. He reached the double-century in just 177 deliveries, becoming the fastest Pakistan batter to do so, surpassing Inzamam-ul-Haq, who did so in just 188 balls back in 1992.
Masood now holds the Pakistani record for scoring the fastest double century in first-class cricket history.
Masood’s team’s domination in the opening game
As for the match, Sui Northern amassed 575 runs for the loss of only five wickets before declaring their first innings. They scored at a run-rate of 5.43 in 105.5 overs, as apart from Masood, Ali Zaryab also had fun batting in the middle, scoring 192 runs off 237 deliveries with 26 fours and four sixes.
After declaring their innings, Sahir Associates collapsed like a pack of cards for just 136 runs courtesy a stunning spell from Sajid Khan. He returned with the magical figures of 6/22 in 16.2 overs conceding only 22 runs. Following on, the story was the same for the Associates as they lost three wickets for 68 runs in 19 overs.