Mohammad Abbas emulates Wasim Akram's massive Pakistan record with double blow in first over vs England

Mohammad Abbas became the second Pakistani player after Wasim Akram to pick two wickets in the first over of a Test innings.

England are now edging towards a win in the third Test against Pakistan, and hence would be looking to whitewash the series by a margin of 3-0. However, like the previous two Test matches, Pakistan are not going down timidly without a fight. At the front and centre of this fight has been Mohammad Abbas. After an astonishing partnership for the 9th wicket with Razaullah, he breathed fire with the ball in the fourth innings, as England set out to chase 130, and rattled them early. In the process, Abbas managed to achieve something that only the legendary Wasim Akram did.

Cricket - Third Test - England v Pakistan - Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, Britain - September 12, 2026 Pakistan's Mohammad Abbas celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Ben Duckett Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers (Action Images via Reuters)

In the first ball of the run chase, he got the wicket of Ben Duckett, and in the final ball of the first over, he took the scalp of Emilio Gay. Mohammad Abbas thus became only the second Pakistan player in history to take two wickets in the first over of a Test innings. The first Pakistani to do this was the legendary Wasim Akram, when he took the wickets of two Sri Lankan batters during a Test match in 1999.

Mohammad Abbas' heroics with the bat

Deep Dive

What significant achievement did Mohammad Abbas accomplish in the third Test against England?

How did Mohammad Abbas contribute to Pakistan's batting in the third Test?

Why was Razaullah's performance against England notable in the third Test?

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Before he unleashed his magic with the ball, Mohammad Abbas did something just as special with the bat. Pakistan were reeling at 318/8, and needed just two more runs to give England a lead. Abbas refused to give up and played a fighting knock of 42 runs from 67 balls to give Pakistan a bigger lead. This was his highest ever Test score, with his previous best being 29. He hit five fours and two big sixes in the innings.

He put on 121 runs for the 9th wicket with Razaullah, who took the attack to the opposition. This was only the second time that a 9th-wicket partnership scored more than 100 runs for Pakistan in the history of Test cricket. Razaullah smashed 81 runs off just 63 balls, including 9 big sixes.

Thanks to this unexpected pair, Pakistan fought back hard to reach a final total of 449 all out.