Hasan Ali joins elite list featuring Pakistan greats after claiming unique record

Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali’s dream run in Test matches in 2021 continued as he bagged yet another five-wicket haul. Ali accomplished this feat on day two of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram and finished with five wickets for 51 runs. This was the pacer’s fifth five-wicket haul in a calendar year.
Ali thus joined Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Yasir Shah, in an elite list of players who have managed to take five fifers in a calendar year.

Younis tops the list as he has accomplished this feat twice. In 1993, the former Pakistan pacer took 55 wickets at an incredible average of 15.23. He also took six-five wicket-hauls and bettered his own record of 1990, where he took five fifers.

Meanwhile, Ali has taken 37 wickets so far at an average of 15.40 this year. The pacer started the year with a bang and took 21 Test wickets against South Africa in two Test matches. Ali picked two fifers and was named Player of the Series. Next up, he continued his fine form against Zimbabwe, where he managed to trouble the Zimbabwean batters and ended up picking two five-wickets hauls.

It has been nothing short of a fairytale return for Ali to the national team. He has bowled with precision, control, and accuracy. The 27-year-old has also generated prodigious swing, which has troubled most of the batters.

Speaking about the first Test match, Pakistan managed to dismiss Bangladesh for 330. Later, the home team’s bowlers bundled out Pakistan to just 286.

Bangladesh though gave away the advantage and lost 4 wickets for 39 runs at Stump’s on Day 3. Ali has managed to pick one wicket and Shaheen Shah Afridi has picked three wickets.