Azan Awais began his Test career with a century, but the 21-year-old admits it nearly unraveled the moment Nahid Rana’s first ball thudded into his helmet. Pakistan’s newest opener revealed he “zoned out for five minutes” after the impact before settling into an innings that steered his side to 210 for 1 on a helpful Mirpur surface.
“I was not nervous when I was facing Nahid, though I was a little bit nervous when I was going to bat,” Awais said, recalling the incident. “But when the ball hit my helmet, I was a little zoned out for five minutes. But then I realised it was time to show how I was, so I am glad with how I responded. In international cricket, you will face difficulties. They plan for where they’re going to bowl to you, so you have to find solutions to that if you want to score runs.”
Medical staff checked Awais twice for concussion. Once cleared, he attacked the same bowler, taking 27 runs from 23 short-pitched deliveries and driving confidently once the shine faded. A crisp punch through extra cover off Rana carried him into the 90s; a neat clip off his pads pushed him to three figures. There was no wild celebration.
“I’m a very calm guy. I just did a normal celebration. It’s my first one. It’s a very blessed feeling for me. It’s a dream to play Test cricket. It’s my debut match, and I performed really well for my country.”
Pakistan had earlier won an important toss on a greenish pitch that offered swing and seam. Where Bangladesh’s top order misread length and limped to 90 all out, Awais, Abdullah Shafique and captain Shan Masood negotiated the same movement with measured judgement. Their willingness to leave outside off and ride the bounce blunted Rana and the experienced Taskin Ahmed by mid-afternoon.
The foundation, Awais insists, was laid at home. He has topped the first-class run charts across the past two seasons and arrived in Dhaka with 33 matches under his belt—crucial preparation, he believes, for a Dukes ball that nipped about more than its Kookaburra cousin.
“I performed well in domestic cricket, so I was confident that I would do well,” he explained. “I was a little bit nervous when I was playing the first ball, but then once I scored my first run I began to feel better and more confident.”
“In the last 2 years I played 33 first-class matches, and I performed really well in first-class cricket,” he continued. “The domestic cricket we’ve played gave us the kind of pitches to prepare for this green track. We got all kinds of pitches, and used a heavy Dukes ball so we knew how we’d have to play on these kinds of tracks. In your debut match, there’s always pressure but thankfully I absorbed it well.”
A hundred on debut puts Awais alongside illustrious company—he is the 14th Pakistani to manage the feat, the first since Imam-ul-Haq in 2018. With Pakistan firmly on top after day one, attention now turns to how the left-hander backs up his start. The early signs, blow to the helmet or not, suggest composure will not be in short supply.
