Historic Debut for Pakistan's Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal in Test Match

In a historic match, Pakistan's Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal made their Test debuts against Bangladesh, achieving remarkable milestones despite the team's loss. Awais scored a century, while Fazal contributed significantly with two half-centuries. Their partnership records have set new benchmarks in Test cricket history, making them the first debutants to achieve both a century and fifty-run partnerships in the same match. This article delves into their impressive performances and the significance of their achievements in the context of cricket history.

By Narendra Chaudhary May 13, 2026, 17:19 IST

Pakistan's Historic Test Debut

In a remarkable debut, Pakistan cricketers Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal made headlines despite their team's loss to Bangladesh by 104 runs in the first Test of a two-match series held at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka. This match is part of the ongoing 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Awais opened the batting alongside Iman-ul-Haq, while Fazal received his cap as a late replacement for former captain Babar Azam, who was sidelined due to a knee injury. Awais scored 103 runs in the first innings and added 15 runs in the second, while Fazal contributed 60 and 65 runs in his two innings. Together, they formed a 104-run partnership for the second wicket in the first innings and followed it with a 54-run stand in the second innings.

Record-Breaking Performance

Awais and Fazal have etched their names in history as the first pair of debutants to achieve both a century partnership and a fifty-run partnership in the same Test match. According to ESPNCricinfo, this marks only the second occurrence of two 50-run partnerships in both innings of a Test match, the first being 92 years ago by India's Dilawar Hussain and CS Nayudu. They had a 53 and 52 run partnership for the seventh wicket against England in 1934 at Eden Gardens, which was the first Test match ever played in Kolkata. Additionally, Awais and Fazal are the third pair of Pakistani debutants to score a century partnership on their Test debut, and the first to do so since 2003. This achievement has only been recorded 14 times in the history of Test cricket.

Notable Partnerships by Test Debutants

Players	Runs	For Wicket	Team	Opponent	Venue	Year
Khalid Ibadulla and Abdul Kadir	249	1	Pakistan	Australia	Karachi	1964
NE Bonners, Kyle Mayers	216	4	West Indies	Bangladesh	Chattogram	2021
DL Houghton, Andy Flower	165	1	Zimbabwe	India	Harare	1992
Tanim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique	161	1	Bangladesh	New Zealand	Dunedin	2008
GA Headley, FI de Caires	142	3	West Indies	England	Barbados	1930
Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed	134	2	Pakistan	Bangladesh	Karachi	2003
FI de Caires, JED Sealy	130	4	West Indies	England	Barbados	1930
Ricky Ponting, Stuart Law	121	5	Australia	Sri Lanka	Perth	1995
RA Duff, WW Armstrong	120	10	Australia	England	Melbourne	1902
RE Foster, AE Relf	115	9	England	Australia	Sydney	1903
Kevin O'Brien, SR Thomso	114	7	Ireland	Pakistan	Dublin	2018
G Gunn, J Hardstaff	113	4	England	Australia	Sydney	1907
Azan Awais, Abdullah Fazal	104	2	Pakistan	Bangladesh	Mirpur	2026
KJ Arnott, GW Flower	100	1	Zimbabwe	India	Harare	1992

Azan Awais has become the 15th player in Pakistan's history to score a century on debut, while Fazal is the sixth Pakistani to achieve half-centuries in both innings during their first Test appearances.