Statistics and records to celebrate Younis Khan’s incredible journey as a Test cricketer. His next Test will be the 100th of his career
Bishen Jeswant24-Jun-20151:40
Younis Khan has scored at least one century against every Test playing nation
Younis Khan has scored 8594 Test runs and is currently third on the list of highest run-scorers for Pakistan, just behind Javed Miandad (8832) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (8829). However, Miandad had scored only 7694 runs after 100 Tests, while Inzamam had only 7453 after his 100th. Younis’ next Test against Sri Lanka will be the 100th of his career.Younis’ career batting average of 53.71 is the highest in Test history for any Pakistan batsman who has played more than 10 Test innings. Second and third on the list are Javed Miandad (52.57) and Mohammad Yousuf (52.29). Younis Khan’s 29 Test hundreds, exactly as many as Sir Donald Bradman, is easily the most for any Pakistan batsman with Inzamam coming in at second place with 25.
Player Mat Runs Ave 100 50Javed Miandad 124 8832 52.57 23 43Inzamam-ul-Haq 119 8829 50.16 25 46Younis Khan 99 8594 53.71 29 29Mohammad Yousuf 90 7530 52.29 24 33Saleem Malik 103 5768 43.69 15 29Zaheer Abbas 78 5062 44.79 12 20Mudassar Nazar 76 4114 38.09 10 17Saeed Anwar 55 4052 45.52 11 25Majid Khan 63 3931 38.92 8 19Hanif Mohammad 55 3915 43.98 12 15Converting fifties to hundredsYounis has scored 29 hundreds and 29 fifties, which means he converts every second 50-plus score into a century. Only Matthew Hayden has more centuries (30 hundreds, 29 fifties) than Younis among batsmen who have scored as many (or more) hundreds than fifties.
Player Mat Runs Ave 100 50ML Hayden (Aus) 103 8625 50.73 30 29Younis Khan (Pak) 99 8594 53.71 29 29MJ Clarke (Aus) 110 8511 50.66 28 27DG Bradman (Aus) 52 6996 99.94 29 13M Azharuddin (India) 99 6215 45.03 22 21Younis has scored five hundreds since October 2014 with only one corresponding fifty – three hundreds against Australia, one against New Zealand and one against Bangladesh. In this context, it is worth mentioning that Don Bradman (29 hundreds, 13 fifties) and George Headley (10 hundreds, 5 fifties) are the only two batsmen to score twice as many hundreds as fifties (min. 10 hundreds).Fourth innings prowessYounis Khan has scored 1162 runs at an average of 52.81 in the fourth innings of Tests during his career. Among batsmen who have scored at least 1000 runs in the fourth innings, only three have a better average – Geoff Boycott (58.76), Sunil Gavaskar (58.25) and Gordon Greenidge (53.19). Younis has scored four centuries in the fourth innings, which is the joint-most for any batsman in Test history, along with Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Graeme Smith.
Player Mat Runs Ave 100 50G Boycott 36 1234 58.76 3 7SM Gavaskar 34 1398 58.25 4 8CG Greenidge 41 1383 53.19 3 6Younis Khan 38 1162 52.81 4 5GC Smith 42 1611 51.96 4 9RT Ponting 56 1462 50.41 4 6Younis is only batsman in Test history to score three back-to-back hundreds in the fourth innings of Tests. He did this during a two month period (Oct-Nov) in 2007 – two against South Africa and one against India. During the Test series against Australia late last year, Younis became only the third batsman after Bradman and Herbert Sutcliff to average more than 50 in each of the four innings of a Test (min. 10 knocks in each innings). However, his average in the third innings has now dropped slightly to 48.90.Runs scored after 99 TestsYounis made his debut on 26 February 2000 against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi and has scored 8594 runs in 99 Tests since then. However, despite scoring his runs at a commendable average of 53.71, Younis only finds himself at 10th on the list of highest run scorers since 26 February 2000. This is largely due to the fact that Pakistan play fewer Tests than most other nations. Pakistan have played 129 Tests in this period, the second-fewest among the top-eight teams with only New Zealand (125) having played fewer.However, it is indisputable that Younis has been prolific in the 99 Tests he has played, something which is illustrated by the fact that he is second on the all-time list of players who have scored the most runs after 99 Tests, behind only Brian Lara (8833).
Player RunsBC Lara 8833Younis Khan 8594KC Sangakkara 8572R Dravid 8492ML Hayden 8484V Sehwag 8448SM Gavaskar 8394SR Tendulkar 8351GC Smith 8042RT Ponting 7990Younis’ career can be broken up into two parts – the first third and remaining two thirds. During the first third of his career, Younis only scored at an average of 37.94, including six hundreds and ten fifties. However, during the remaining two thirds, he has an average of 61.97, including 23 hundreds and 19 fifties.
Period Mat Runs Ave SR 100 502000 – 2005 33 2087 37.94 50.22 6 102005 – 2015 66 6507 61.97 53.36 23 19Comparison with contemporariesAs mentioned above, the last two thirds of Younis’ career, since 16 March 2005 (approx. last 10 years), have been more productive than the first. His average of 61.97 during this period is the second-best for any batsman, after Sangakkara (62.91), who has scored at least 2000 runs.
Player Mat Inns Runs Ave SR 100 50KC Sangakkara 87 154 8871 62.91 54.22 31 34Younis Khan 66 119 6507 61.97 53.36 23 19Mohammad Yousuf 33 61 3421 60.01 57.25 12 11S Chanderpaul 84 145 6675 58.55 43.97 19 34SPD Smith 28 54 2587 56.23 54.63 9 11JH Kallis 77 131 6344 55.16 49.78 25 22HM Amla 79 135 6695 54.87 51.82 23 28JE Root 27 49 2273 54.11 50.05 6 11Misbah-ul-Haq 51 87 3786 53.32 44.16 8 28AB de Villiers 91 150 7099 52.58 53.87 20 33Out of the 6507 runs scored by Younis in the last two thirds of his career, 2680 have come in wins. These runs have come at an incredible average of 83.75, which is by far the most among batsmen who have scored at least 2000 runs in wins over this period. Sangakkara is a distant second with an average of 70.29.Hundreds everywhere, against everyoneYounis has scored at least one century against every Test playing nation. He has seven centuries against Sri Lanka, five against India, four against South Africa and three against Australia. Younis is the first Pakistan batsman to score centuries against each of the nine Test nations. Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf came quite close to achieving this feat, but neither of them scored centuries against South Africa.Younis averages 88.06 versus India, his best against any team and also the best in Test history for any Pakistan batsman against India (min. 1000 runs). In fact, his average of 88.06 is the third-best for any batsman against India with only Everton Weekes (106.78) and Andy Flower (94.83) averaging more. Younis averages more than 50 against six out of nine Test nations, with the outliers being West Indies (38.94), South Africa (39.60) and England (43.55).Apart from scoring a century against each of the nine Test nations, Younis has also scored at least one Test hundred in 10 different countries (including UAE). The only country where he has not managed a hundred is Australia, where he has only played three Tests, his fewest in any country. The only other Pakistan batsman to score a century in 10 different countries is Mohammad Yousuf, but he doesn’t have a century in South Africa. Younis averages an impressive 52.22 in England, 65.28 in New Zealand and 43.16 in Australia. Only his average in South Africa (32.60) suffers by comparison.
Player Mat Runs Ave 100 50Javed Miandad 41 2935 48.91 7 15Saleem Malik 30 1854 47.53 4 11Younis Khan 21 1675 45.27 3 9Saeed Anwar 15 1205 43.03 4 6Asif Iqbal 26 1718 42.95 7 3Sadiq Mohammad 17 1288 42.93 3 6Mohammad Yousuf 30 2368 42.28 5 11Inzamam-ul-Haq 37 2503 41.71 5 15Zaheer Abbas 31 2174 40.25 4 12Younis has scored 22 centuries outside Pakistan, by far the most for any Pakistan batsman, with Inzamam’s 14 hundreds being the second-most. Even if centuries scored in the UAE are discounted, Younis has 13 away hundreds, which is still the joint-most with Inzamam.Other numbers and records107 Runs scored by Younis on Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2000, which then made him the seventh Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut. Younis batted at No. 7 when he scored that debut hundred, making him only the third Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut when batting at No. 7 or below, after Mohammad Wasim and Azhar Mahmood.313 Runs scored by Younis against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009, his highest Test score and the third-highest by any Pakistan batsman. He is one of only three Pakistan batsmen to score a triple century, with the others being Hanif Mohammad and Inzamam.5 Number of double centuries scored by Younis, the second-most for any Pakistan batsman after Javed Miandad (6).108 Number of catches taken by Younis, the most by any Pakistan fielder. Younis is the only fielder from Pakistan to take 100-plus catches in Tests.3 Number of consecutive hundreds scored by Younis against Australia in 2014, including two in a single Test. Younis is one of only nine Pakistan batsmen to score two centuries in a Test match.59 Number of century stands shared by Younis in Tests, the most for any Pakistan batsman. Next on the list is Miandad (50) followed by Inzamam (42). Younis has shared 12 century stands with Misbah-ul-Haq, the most between any two Pakistan batsmen.