Who is Abdullah Shafique? 22 year old who helped Pakistan win historic Galle Test

Written By DNA Web Team | Updated: Jul 20, 2022, 06:17 PM IST

Abdullah Shafique made match-winning 160 runs off 408 deliveries in the fourth innings of the 1st Test match against Sri Lanka.

Abdullah Shafique scored an unbeaten 160 to lead Pakistan to a record run chase and a four-wicket victory on Wednesday in a series-opening cricket Test that went ahead despite a political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

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Abdullah Shafiq remained unbeaten on 160. This is the biggest innings of his Test career. He played his first Test against Bangladesh last year. Pakistan needed 120 more runs on Day 5 of the match. On the other hand, Sri Lanka needed 7 more wickets. Sri Lanka got only three wickets and Pakistan chased the target. Shafiq had just one six and 7 fours in his innings.

Shafique was born in Sialkot, Pakistan.[1] His father Shafiq Ahmed is a long-term resident of Dubai, where he moved in 1991. He was a professional cricketer and later became a cricket coach.[3][4][5] His uncle Arshad Ali played international cricket for the United Arab Emirates.

He was bought by Multan Sultans in the 2018 Pakistan Super League players draft but did not play in the competition. He made his first-class debut on 2 December 2019, for Central Punjab in the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, scoring 133 runs. He made his Twenty20 debut on 30 September 2020, for Central Punjab in the 2020–21 National T20 Cup, scoring 102 not out.  As a result, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score a century on his first-class and T20 debut.

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In February 2022, Shafique was named in Pakistan's Test squad for the series against Australia. Abdullah Shafique scored his maiden century in the first match's fourth innings. He scored 397 runs during the three test matches.