Pakistan’s Razaullah Khan makes script history and enters the record books on Test debut

Pakistani Razaullah Khan Pakistan’s latest Test debutant Razaullah Khan turned what looked like another routine England win into a remarkable fightback at Edgbaston, producing a breathtaking six-hit display on his Test cricket debut to create history.The 21-year-old, batting at No. 9, smashed nine sixes in his 81 off 63 balls against England on Friday, setting a new mark for the most sixes by a No. 9 in a Test innings.Razaullah’s attack came just as Pakistan seemed headed for another crushing defeat. After conceding a 320-run first innings lead, Pakistan were reduced to 318/8, still two runs short of an innings defeat.An extraordinary counterattack followed.Razaullah and Mohammad Abbas turned the match on its head with a 121-run ninth-wicket partnership that took Pakistan to 449 before they were finally dismissed in the final over of the day. England needed 130 runs on Saturday to complete the series 3-0.Razaullah’s nine sixes also moved his innings to a unique position in the history of Test cricket.The batting positions alone tell the story. Each position from No. 1 to No. 11 holds the record for the most sixes hit by a batsman in a single Test innings, and Razaullah now ranks 9th.The location record looks like this:Batting Position Most Sixes in a Test InningsNo. 1Yashasvi Jaiswal – 12No. 2Matthew Hayden / Brendon McCullum – 11 no. 3Kusal Mendis – 11No. 4Inzamam-ul-Haq – 9No. 5Nathan Astle / Brendon McCullum – 11 no. 6Ben Stokes – 11 no. 7Adam Gilchrist – 8No. 8Wasim Akram – 12 no. 9Razaullah – 9No. 10Tim Southee – 9 no. 11S Shillingford – 5Razaullah is thus the latest name to enter this unusual list, holding the record for most sixes by a No.9 batsman in a Test innings.What makes this feat even more remarkable is that he achieved it on his Test debut.The Pakistan batsman’s nine sixes came during his stunning 81 off 63 balls against England at Edgbaston. He arrived at the crease with Pakistan two more runs to bring England into bat again, but instead of just surviving, he launched an extraordinary counter-attack alongside Mohammad Abbas.The Pakistan debutant also equaled the record for most sixes in a Test innings in England. Ben Stokes hit nine against Australia at Lord’s during the 2023 Ashes.Razaullah’s effort also equaled Tim Southee’s record of six sixes on Test debut. Southee made nine maximums against England in Napier in 2008.Razaullah’s nine highs included three sixes in one off Gus Atkinson, while another six off Jofra Archer took him to his half-century off just 43 balls. His next maximum, also off Archer, took Pakistan past the 400 mark.The No.9 batsman eventually fell for 81, but by then he had helped Pakistan turn a seemingly inevitable innings defeat into a 129-run lead.His name now sits alongside some of Test cricket’s most devastating batsmen in a batting record that ranges from No.1 to No.11.