ABU DHABI/KARACHI - Younus Khan became Pakistan's all-time leading Test run-scorer, surpassing the great Javed Miandad's tally of 8832 runs on the opening day of the first Test against England in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Younus, 37, set the new mark when he reached 20 with a huge six off spinner Moeen Ali, crossing Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq's tally in one stroke.
"It's a great honour to cross Miandad's record, which I had never thought I would be able to do," said Younus, who now has 8852 runs in 102 Tests. "It was like a wall for me," said Younus of Miandad's tally of runs. "I was a bit nervous today so that's why I pushed myself."
India's Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for most Test runs, with 15,921 in a record 200 matches. Miandad's aggregate had stood for 22 years with Inzamam-ul-Haq falling two runs short of equalling the tally in his last Test against South Africa in 2007.
Inzamam finished with 8830 runs in 120 Tests. Asked why he did not celebrate the occasion on the pitch, Younus said he wanted to focus on his innings as Pakistan made 286-4 at close on the opening day. "I thought the focus should be on my innings because the team needed runs from me so I put my concentration back after reaching the record," he said.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan captains Miandad and Inzamam praised hard-working and committed Younus who became the country's leading Test run scorer on Tuesday.
"I am happy that my record is broken by a patriot who plays for the team and for the country," Miandad told AFP. "He is a very hard working player who has made his name through his commitment and honesty."
Miandad added that Younus has always been a good student of the game. "Younus had played under my coaching and I have always found him a great student of the game who is always willing to learn and always ready to put in a committed effort, which is the hallmark of a great sportsman," said Miandad.
Miandad said Younus had made good contribution to Pakistan cricket. "I wish him the best of luck and now he has broken the record I hope he will not stop, and play as well as he has done in the past 15 years," said Miandad. Inzamam, who skippered Younus from 2003 to 2007, said Younus was someone who takes pride in his hard work. "When he came into the team I found that he is not very talented but he overcame that through his hard work," said Inzamam. "He has scored runs whenever the team needed them the most and that is the sign of a great team man."

NO FLAT-TRACK BULLY

Plenty of Younus' success has come in Pakistan and the UAE, where he has amassed seven and nine tons and averages of 59.31 and 54.86 respectively, but he has also been a vital cog for his country on their travels.

Younus averages over 50 in England, 76.80 in India and a whopping 100.66 in Bangladesh, helping him become the third-highest Test run-scorer on the road, with his 6,916 only bettered by India legends Sachin Tendulkar (8,705) and Rahul Dravid (7,690).

He has also scored the most hundreds (15) and plundered the most runs (3,642) in Test wins away from home, edging Steve Waugh (14) on the first count and Ponting (3,314) on the second.

53.97 Younus' Test batting average, the highest by any Pakistani batsman to have played 20 innings or more. Miandad sits in second place with 52.57, while Inzamam-ul Haq, M Yousuf and current wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed also average over 50. He is 15th in the all-time list of top run-scorers in Tests. Among the list of top run-getters from each country, two have a higher average than Younus - Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (57.40) and South Africa's Jacques Kallis (55.25).

30 The most Test tons by a Pakistani, placing Younus above Inzamam (25), M Yousuf (24) and Miandad (23) in the history books. The right-hander is joint-eighth on the all-time list alongside Matthew Hayden (Australia) and Shiv Chanderpaul (West Indies).

5 The veteran made history over the summer, with his superb 171 not out in a win over Sri Lanka making him the only man to have registered five centuries in the fourth innings of a Test match. Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Graeme Smith have four.

3 Younus became just the third man to score a Test triple hundred for Pakistan, after Inzamam in 2002 and Hanif Mohammad in 1958, when posting 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009. He has also passed 200 in a Test innings on a further four occasions.
110 And proving he can be just as lethal in the field as in the middle, Younus has also snaffled the most Test catches by a Pakistani, 17 more than fellow great Miandad's 93.

9 Man-of-the-Match awards won by Younus in his Test career. Among Pakistan players, only Wasim Akram (17) and Imran Khan (11) have won more such awards. Since the beginning of 2005, Younus has been Player of the Match eight times, twice as many as the next best for Pakistan - Yousuf has four during this period.

76.70 Younus' average in Tests won by Pakistan. Among Pakistan batsmen who've scored at least 500 runs in Test wins, only Inzamam (78.16) has a higher average. Younus' 16 hundreds in Test wins are also second among Pakistan batsmen, only one behind Inzamam's 17.

2287 Runs scored by Younus' in Tests after turning 35, at an average of 61.81. Among the 25 batsmen who've scored 2000-plus Test runs since turning 35, Younus' average is the highest. Sangakkara, with 2528 runs at 60.19, is the only other batsman to average more than 60. For Pakistan, only Misbah has scored more runs after the age of 35.

61 Century partnerships that Younus has been involved in, in Tests. It's the highest for a Pakistan batsman, well clear of Miandad (50), Inzamam (42) and Yousuf (41).

Pakistan’s Top 10 Test run-getters

Player Mat Runs HS Ave 100 50
Player Span Mat Runs HS Ave 100 50
Younus Khan 2000-2015 102* 8852 313 53.97 30 29
Javed Miandad 1976-1993 124 8832 280* 52.57 23 43
Inzamam-ul-Haq 1992-2007 119 8829 329 50.16 25 46
M Yousuf 1998-2010 90 7530 223 52.29 24 33
Saleem Malik 1982-1999 103 5768 237 43.69 15 29
Zaheer Abbas 1969-1985 78 5062 274 44.79 12 20
Mudassar Nazar 1976-1989 76 4114 231 38.09 10 17
Saeed Anwar 1990-2001 55 4052 188* 45.52 11 25
Misbah-ul-Haq 2001-2015 59* 4003 161* 47.65 8 29
Majid Khan 1964-1983 63 3931 167 38.92 8 19