Three Pakistan debutants score fifties in same Test innings against Sri Lanka
The feat has occurred only once before in 149 years of Test cricket, during Zimbabwe's maiden Test in 1992.
Three debutants, Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha and Arafat Minhas, scored half-centuries in the same innings for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, according to the Times of India. This is only the second time in Test history that three players making their debut have reached fifty in a single innings.
Minhas scored 52 runs from 72 balls, including nine fours and a six. Tayyab Arif contributed 57 off 51 deliveries, while Taha made 51 off 105 balls to help Pakistan reach a total of 434/9 before declaring on Day 2.
Saud Shakeel made 93 runs off 193 deliveries and shared a 44-run partnership with Minhas. Other contributors included Ghazi Ghori, who scored 48, and Razaullah, who made 17.
In the bowling department, debutant Saqib Khan took two wickets, dismissing Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Udara. He bowled alongside Mohammad Abbas, who removed Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a duck.
Sri Lanka reached 114/3 at the close of play on Day 2. The innings included an unbeaten 49-run partnership between Mendis and de Silva before bad light ended the day's play.
