The beauty of cricket lies in its charming unpredictability, its ups and downs and its twists and turns, no matter it is played at the Test level or in a shorter format game.

Dull periods make you suffer and at times exciting and entertaining moments make you hold your breath. But that is not all that one experiences while a match is in progress. There are other factors too that attract one towards it and that, undoubtedly, is one of the most fascinating aspects of the game.

And then there are the statistics and records that keep on changing as a match or a series progresses. For hundreds of years, since this game developed into a proper sport, thousands of records have been made and broken, keeping the statisticians quite busy.

The pink ball Test, only the second one in history and first in Asia, is no different. This is also the 400th Test of Pakistan and Azhar Ali became the first century maker in this format of Test cricket. After having opened the innings, he not only scored a hundred but went on to score a triple, also a first in day-night Tests. And the first landmarks always have a lot of importance in any format.

Jalaluddin, the former fast bowler, played only a small number of Tests. But he forever wrote his name in the record books as the first bowler to have taken an ODI hat-trick when playing for Pakistan against Australia at Hyderabad’s Niaz Stadium.

And, of course, there was Charles Bannerman of Australia who became the first century maker in Test history when he made 167 against England at the MCG in 1877. He was also the first player to face the first ever delivery bowled in a Test by Alfred Shaw of England.

As for Azhar’s knock, it was not an unblemished innings but surely a very productive one on a flat track which in the end could well turn into a match winning one. Full of crisp drives, cuts and pulls round every corner of the park.

The record books also remember Billy Murdoch of Australia who scored the first double century in Tests (211) against England at The Oval in 1884.

Thus far 24 triple centuries have been recorded in Tests but the first one who made it was England’s Andy Sandham who scored one in 1930 against the West Indies at Jamaica.

And Brian Lara of course became the first to score a quadruple century (400) against England at Antigua in 2004 and remains the only one so far to accomplish this feat.

Azhar also became only the second triple century maker for Pakistan against the West Indies after Hanif Mohammad (337) at Bridgetown in 1957.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2016