Unpredictable Pakistan end 2018 with cricket records

2018 was yet another roller coaster ride for the unpredictable Pakistan cricket, as Sarfraz Ahmed’s men continued to impress in the limited overs format, especially in T20Is, but were pretty mediocre in the game of Test.

However, this did not hamper Pakistan cricket players to rewrite history books. Here is the list of records set by the Men in Green in 2018.

Yasir Shah fastest to 200 scalps

Leg spinner Yasir Shah rewrote history books in November after he became the fastest bowler in cricket to claim 200 Test wickets, which he achieved during the third Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.

Shah broke the 82-year-old record of Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett — who took his 200th wicket in his 36th Test against South Africa in 1936, however, Shah managed to claim the feat in only his 33rd Test match.

Fakhar first to score 200 for Pakistan

Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman became the first Pakistani batsman to score 200 runs in One Day International (ODI) cricket. Zaman achieved this feat on July 20 against cricket minnows Zimbabwe.

However, it was a big sigh of relief for the Pakistani cricket fans, who were eagerly waiting for someone to surpass the legendary Saeed Anwar's 194 against India.

Babar Azam overtakes Virat Kohli, pile records

Top order batsman Babar Azam maintained his place as the country’s premier batsman as he continued to claim records in 2018.

In October, the youngster became the first batsman to score five consecutive centuries at UAE, with scores of 120, 123, 117, 103 and 101 in last five ODIs. Azam also became the fastest to reach seven ODI centuries, with 33 innings, breaking the record of Proteas great Hashim Amla with seven tons in 41 ODI innings.

To top it off, Azam, who is currently the number one T20I batsman, became the fastest to reach the 1,000 runs milestone in 26 games in 20-overs cricket, one match short of his idol the Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Abbas dazzles with the ball

Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas, was the spearhead of Pakistan fast bowling battery dismantling batting lines of the likes of Australia and England at will in 2018. In October, Abbas became the first fast bowler to take a 10-wicket haul in a UAE Test, while becoming the second fastest bowler for Pakistan to claim 50 Test wickets.

The youngster with a career average of just 15.64 also hold the distinction for having the fourth best bowling average for any bower with 50-plus wickets in the last 100 years. Only three English fast bowlers GA Lohmann, JJ Ferris and William Barnes who last played in 1890, had better averages than Abbas.