Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi Give Standing Ovation To Shan Masood After He Scores Century vs England - WATCH

Shan Masood ended his four-year-long wait for a fifth Test century for Pakistan on Monday (October 7). The 34-year-old left-handed batter, who is leading Pakistan in the ongoing first Test against England in Multan, scored his first Test century as captain in the series opener at Multan Cricket Stadium. He crossed the 100-run mark with a single on the fifth ball of the 38th over. Masood needed 102 balls to complete his century, and he has hammered 10 fours and 2 sixes so far (at the end of 39 overs).

Masood, who was appointed as Pakistan’s last captain last year, was struggling with form for quite some time, because of which many former greats and experts of the game questioned his place in the playing XI, but the 34-year-old batter has now silenced his critics by producing a super show with the bat.

He came out to bat No. 3 for the hosts after they lost Saim Ayub for 4 runs from 10 balls in the fourth over itself and has so far added 176 runs for the second wicket with Abdullah Shafique. Shafique, who was also heavily criticised for his performance in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, is batting on 72 runs from 121 balls.

Shan has played some aggressive shots so far in the first inning, which has helped his side keep England at bay. After completing his century, Shan celebrated in style and received a standing ovation from the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azam from the dressing room.

The video of Shan celebrating his century and receiving standing ovations from his teammates was shared by Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) official X handle on Monday, and within no time it went viral on the internet.

Shan, whose best score in Test cricket is 156, which he made against England in August 2020, would like to convert his century into a big score and help Pakistan post a big total on the board, which will help them put pressure as well on England in the series opener.

England is missing the services of star all-rounder and Test captain Ben Stokes in the series opener as he is still recovering from a hamstring injury.