Rizwan pips Sarfaraz to become fastest Pakistani keeper to 2000 Test runs

Rawalpindi: Mohammad Rizwan surpassed former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed’s record to become the fastest Pakistani wicketkeeper to complete 2000 Test runs. Rizwan achieved the milestone on the second day of the third Test against England on Friday. Rizwan reached the milestone in 57 innings, two short of Sarfaraz, who completed the feat in 59 innings. The 32-year-old, who has been struggling in the ongoing Test series, was 16 runs short of completing 2000 Test runs before this match. After the dismissal of captain Shan Masood off Shoaib Bashir, Rizwan got the opportunity to reach the landmark. He expressed his attacking intent with a six off Jack Leach early in the innings but he could not keep the momentum going as he was dismissed by Rehan Ahmed after scoring 25 off 46 balls with a four and a six. Pakistan were struggling for 187/7 in 62 overs at Lunch. Rizwan’s last Test century came in the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi as he smashed unbeaten 171 and 51 in the match. However, in the last four Tests, he failed to score a single half-century and was dismissed cheaply including the first two Tests against England. Pakistan lost two more wickets of Agha Salman (1) and Aamer Jamal (14) to Rehan in the second session before Lunch. Earlier, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali shared nine wickets between them to bundle out England for 267 in the first innings. Sajid returned with figures of 6-128 to continue his stellar performance in the series. –IANS