Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel has joined a small group in Test cricket after being out between 90 and 99 in both innings of the Rawalpindi Test against Sri Lanka. The Saud Shakeel Test record is an unusual one: only five batters have been out in that range twice in the same match, and Shakeel now stands among them. His combined total of 190 runs also places him second on the all-time list for this record.
Two near misses in Rawalpindi
Shakeel made 93 in Pakistan's first innings and 97 in the second. That makes him only the fifth batter to be out in the 90s twice in one Test. Sources say the feat has happened six times in the history of Test cricket, the longest form of the game, which goes back nearly 150 years.
Former West Indies batter Gordon Greenidge is the only player to appear on the list twice. His first instance came against Pakistan at Georgetown in March 1977, when he made 91 and 96. He repeated it against New Zealand in Christchurch in February 1980, scoring 91 and 97.
Earlier names on the list
Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene was the most recent batter before Shakeel to achieve this, with 92 and 96 against New Zealand in Colombo in August 2009. England's Frank Woolley also makes the list, with 95 and 93 against Australia at Lord's in June 1921.
The earliest case dates to January 1902, when Australia's Clem Hill was out for 98 and 97 against England in Adelaide. His combined total of 195 runs across those two innings tops the list. Shakeel's 190 places him just behind Hill.
What the record shows
The Saud Shakeel Test record reflects narrow misses rather than one poor innings. He needed seven more runs in the first innings and three more in the second to reach a century. For Test followers, the entry is a reminder of how thin the margin can be between a score in the 90s and a hundred.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ke batter Saud Shakeel ne Rawalpindi Test mein Sri Lanka ke khilaf 93 aur 97 runs banaye, aur dono baar sau tak nahi pahunch sake. Is se wo Test cricket ke ek rare record mein shamil ho gaye hain, jis mein ab tak sirf paanch khilari aaye hain. Aam cricket shaiqeen ke liye yeh dikhata hai ke sau aur 90 ke beech fasla kitna patla hota hai. Is ka seedha asar bijli, petrol ya roz ke kharch par nahi hoga.
