The first test match between Pakistan and West Indies at Dubai that’s currently being played is a day night test match played with the pink Kookaburra ball. Pakistan after winning the toss decided to bat first. Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s opener played a splendid knock to put his team in driver’s position. He scored a triple century (302 not out) in a series of firsts. He is the fourth Pakistani to score a triple century in test matches. This is also the highest individual test score in Dubai. Here are 3 reasons why Azhar Ali’s triple century stands among the best centuries of all time.
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Score Update: Pakistan has now declared its first innings at a mammoth score of 579/3.
First in day night tests
This is the second test match being played with the pink ball. The first match was between Australia and New Zealand and there was no century scored in that game. The game ended within 3 days and created a widespread belief that it’s difficult to build a big innings in day/night test match. Azhar disproved that belief and became the first man to score a century (also a double and a triple century) in day night test matches.
Low visibility
Pink ball is associated with an element of poor visibility, especially during the twilight of the day. Being an opener, Azhar had managed to see off two such sessions in this innings. This in itself a bigger proof of his temperament.
Also Read: Kohli’s response to Harbhajan Singh’s pitch taunt
Excellent knock
Azhar’s knock was an assured one and he didn’t offer Windies any concrete chances except a couple of half chance including a sharp catch at slips. He maintained a healthy strike rate of close to 65%. This implies that he didn’t play over cautiously to get to his personal record and rather assessed the team’s situation and played as per the need.
Azhar Ali has already scored 11 test centuries in 50 matches and thanks to his impressive technical skills, he can continue to terrorize the bowlers in the years to come as well.
