Shan Masood becomes first Pakistani opener to hit 100 in England in 21st century

KARACHI: Pakistani opener Shan Masood added another feather to his cap on Thursday when he completed a century on the second day of Manchester Test against England.

Masood reached triple figures by running two off James Anderson during the second session’s play today to complete a hat-trick of centuries.

He is also the first Pakistani opener in the 21st century to score a hundred in England. Last Pakistani opener to reach three figures in England was Saeed Anwar who scored 176 at the Oval Test in 1996.

The 30-year-old left-handed batter is the first overseas opener to score a century in the first innings of a Test in England since 2015 — the last one to reach a three-figure individual score in first innings of a Test in England was Australia’s Chris Rogers, who scored 173 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground back in 2015.

This is Masood's third consecutive three-figure innings, which makes him the sixth Pakistani cricketer to score 100 in three consecutive innings after Zaheer Abbas, Mudassar Nazar, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, and Misbah-ul-Haq.

He is also the third Pakistani batter — and the second opener — to score a century at Old Trafford, Manchester. Before him, Inzamam-ul-Haq scored a century here in 2001 and Aamer Sohail in 1992.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan has never lost a Test match when an opener has scored a century in England. Fans hope the team will continue this tradition and end the Manchester Test on a positive note.