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Pakistan began Friday at Edgbaston on 0 for 2, still 320 runs behind, and with a 3-0 whitewash looking like a formality before tea. They ended it 449 all out, 129 in front, and with a 21-year-old debutant from Mardan being applauded off by the entire ground after hitting nine sixes from No. 9.
Razaullah made 81 from 63 balls. He broke two of his three bats doing it. He put on 121 for the ninth wicket with Mohammad Abbas — Pakistan’s highest ninth-wicket stand against England since 1984 — and when he was finally stumped by Jordan Cox off Dan Lawrence, he had turned a dead Test into a live one. England need 130 on Saturday. Nobody had planned to be here.
Nine sixes, two broken bats
Razaullah walked out with Pakistan 318 for 8, still four runs adrift. His first six cleared the lead. His fifth, off Jofra Archer, brought up a fifty from 50 balls. His sixth brought up Pakistan’s 400. In between he took three sixes off Gus Atkinson inside four deliveries, the kind of over that empties a bowler’s plans and a captain’s field settings simultaneously.
The nine sixes equal the most struck in a Test innings in England, matching Ben Stokes’ 155 at Lord’s in the 2023 Ashes. They also match Tim Southee’s record for the most sixes by a debutant in Test history. Razaullah has played eight first-class matches. He was doing this against Archer, Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson, on a surface that had eased but had not become a batting paradise.
“I was planning to take it long and deep,” he said afterwards. “They bowled in the slot so I was eyeing it up.” It is a simple description of a method that looked closer to instinct — no shuffling, no premeditated ramps, just a very fast bat coming down through the line.
It was not his first contribution. Razaullah had trapped Joe Root lbw for eight with his fourth delivery in Test cricket, clocking 89mph in that opening over, and finished England’s first innings of 453 with 4 for 148. He is a fast bowler. He batted like a top-order player who had been told the game finished in an hour.
From 0 for 2 to a lead nobody saw counting
The innings did not arrive from nowhere in isolation. Shan Masood made 95 from 148 balls with 12 fours, Azan Awais 59, and the pair added 125 to stop the collapse that had started the previous evening. Babar Azam, captaining a side under considerable pressure, made 76 from 103 with 11 fours. Mohammad Abbas, batting at 10, contributed a career-best 42 and — more usefully — 67 balls of company.
Set against Pakistan’s first innings of 133, and against sub-200 totals in both earlier Tests of the series, 449 is the outlier. England’s attack conceded it: Atkinson 3 for 109, Archer 1 for 120, Tongue 2 for 106. Lawrence’s 2 for 17 with part-time offspin ended it, which tells its own story about where the frontline plans had gone.
What “Razball” means from here
The nickname wrote itself within the hour, and there is something pointed about a Pakistan tailender producing the most Bazball-looking innings of an England home summer. Ramiz Raja called it “the attitude that was needed… natural in mind, body language and attitude”. Michael Vaughan was blunter: “Pakistan have unearthed a gem and he will be a superstar for many years.”
The backstory has already become part of the appeal. Razaullah was parachuted into the squad last week having only just obtained his first passport. His phone was off when selectors tried to reach him; a coach was reportedly dispatched to his village to deliver the news in person. He made his first-class debut in November 2025.
What it does not do is win the Test. England require 130 with all ten wickets, on a fourth-day pitch that has shown no serious demons, and the overwhelming likelihood remains a 3-0 series scoreline. But Pakistan have spent this tour losing without landing a punch, and selection debates back home have been circular for two years. They now have a 21-year-old who bowls at 143kph and hits the ball into the upper tiers, and an argument for backing raw talent over accumulated caution.
Whether that becomes policy or a one-off is Saturday’s smaller question. The larger one is how long Pakistan wait before giving Razaullah a bat higher than No. 9.
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**Sources:** [Cricinfo match report](https://www.cricinfo.com/series/pakistan-tour-in-england-2026-1496563/england-vs-pakistan-3rd-test-1496584/match-report) · [Yahoo Sports](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/razaullah-introduces-himself-pakistan-thrive-194303003.html) · [AP via WRAL](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/e6c6f-pakistan-trails-england-by-136-runs-in-third-cricket-test-after-masood-and-awais-hit-half-centuries/) · [Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket/meet-21-year-old-razaullah-whos-making-his-dream-debut-for-pakistan-1.500669351) · [The Sports Encounter](https://thesportsencounter.com/2026/09/11/england-pakistan-edgbaston-day-3-razaullah-81-2026/)
Two notes on the facts: his bowling return was 2 for 42 at the close of day one but **4 for 148** across England’s full innings — I used the final figure. And the piece is written to the end of day three, with England yet to chase the 130; day four hasn’t been played as of publication.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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