Asad Shafiq's top 5 knocks in Tests
Asad Shafiq announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Sunday, December 10. He was one of the finest batters to have pulled on the whites for Pakistan in the last decade.
Having amassed 4660 runs in 77 games at a healthy average of 38.19 including 12 hundreds and 27 fifties, Shafiq formed the veritable backbone of Pakistan from 2010 to 2020 alongside the likes of Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. He also played in 60 ODIs and 10 T20Is for Pakistan.
"I am not feeling the same excitement and passion playing cricket and neither do I have the same fitness levels required for international cricket. Which is why I have decided to say goodbye to all cricket (sic),” Shafiq told reporters.
A non-controversial player who kept away from the glare of the media, most of Shafiq's crucial runs came in challenging situations for Pakistan. Manning the lower middle order is not an easy job in red-ball cricket and yet Shafiq did that with ease.
Some of Shafiq's best performances came abroad when Pakistan had their backs to the wall, and he came to define his career with grit and character. Throughout his career, he stayed away from the limelight.
In this listicle, we bring to you the top five knocks that Asad Shafiq has played in Test cricket:
#1. 137 vs New Zealand, 2014
The highest score that Asad Shafiq got in Test cricket was 137 against New Zealand in Sharjah in 2014.
While Mohammad Hafeez's 197 gave Pakistan a good score in the first innings, Shafiq led the show for them in the second innings in reply to the Kiwis' massive total of 690.
Shafiq took just 148 balls to score his runs at a strike rate of 92. His presence in the Pakistan middle order gave it considerable heft in this match and allowed them to draw the match.
Sarfaraz Ahmed was the only other Pakistani batsman to cross thirty in this innings.
#2. 137 vs Australia, 2016
As mentioned above, some of the best knocks that Shafiq played came in challenging conditions abroad.
On a seaming and bouncing Gabba track in Pakistan's tour of Australia in 2016, Shafiq put in another second-innings masterclass to score 137 off 207 balls.
This time, however, he could not prevent Pakistan from crashing to a narrow loss in the hands of the hosts.
Australia were helped by Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb's centuries in the first innings while Mitchell Starc and Jackson Bird combined to bowl Pakistan out in the second despite Shafiq's ton.
#3. 131 vs Sri Lanka, 2015
On a placid batting surface at the Galle International Stadium in Galle, Sri Lanka, Shafiq batted extremely well to score 131.
This came in the first innings as Pakistan scored 416 in response to Sri Lanka's even 300. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed contributed with 96 in the first innings.
Pakistan bowled Sri Lanka out for 206 in the second innings and then chased the required runs down without losing a wicket.
The visitors ended up winning the game with ten wickets in hand, thanks largely to Shafiq's knock in the first innings.
#4. 130 vs South Africa, 2013
Having been bowled out for an embarrassing 99 in the first innings against the Proteas, Pakistan needed something special from their batsmen in the second.
Asad Shafiq put his hand up and scored 130 coming later in the middle-order. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq contributed with 88 and this allowed the hosts to get their score to 326 at the Dubai International Stadium.
However, this was not enough as South Africa's mammoth 517 in the first innings, thanks to skipper Graeme Smith's double-century, was enough for them to complete an innings victory over Pakistan.
#5. 112 vs Sri Lanka, 2017
The last innings on this list is another of Asad Shafiq's that came in a losing cause. Playing against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Stadium in 2017, Pakistan could score just 262 in the first innings in response to the visitors' 482.
Dimuth Karunaratne's 196 had propped Sri Lanka to that score. The visitors, surprisingly, got all out for a paltry 96 in the second innings.
Set to chase 317 in the second innings, the hosts fell short by 68 runs, despite Shafiq's stellar 112.
Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed too scored a half-century but the duo could not take their team home. They lost the two-match series 0-2 to Sri Lanka.