Galle: After scoring an incredible century against Sri Lanka in Galle, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam claimed on Wednesday that Abdullah Shafique can go on to become one of the best Test openers in the world.
Pakistan won a tense first Test in the last session of day five after Abdullah scored an unbroken 160 to lead Pakistan home in a record chase of 342 at the scenic site.
The in-form Prabath Jayasuriya led a spin attack that claimed nine wickets in the encounter as the 22-year-old batted for just under nine hours and five sessions.As a young person, “it’s nice when you prove yourself and perform in difficult circumstances and challenging tracks,”
“He was on a different level because of his performance against Australia, which gave him a boost in confidence. Your confidence grows as a result, enabling you to perform well against quality bowling. Abdullah scored his second Test century in just his sixth match after making his debut last year. He struck 136 runs without being bowled against Australia in Rawalpindi in March.
According to Babar, who contributed to a crucial third-wicket partnership of 101 runs with Abdullah to set up the chase, “He will get many, many more such knocks” because of the way he plays, which is so clean and with such intensity.
“I hope he grows into one of the world’s top openers.”
Abdullah, who has played in 11 Test matches and has an average score of 80, added 71 runs with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan (40), and then 41 runs with Mohammad Nawaz, who scored 19 runs without being out.
