Historic Moments in Multan: Noman Ali’s Hat-Trick and the Unprecedented Wicket Tally on Test Cricket’s Opening Day
CricketPanditNoman Ali made history by becoming the first Pakistani spinner to achieve a Test hat-trick Here are some key stats from the fast-paced opening day of the second Test between Pakistan and West Indies in Multan: A total of 20 wickets fell on the first day, marking the highest number ever recorded in a single day of Test cricket on Pakistani soil, surpassing the previous record of 19 wickets that fell on the second day of the last Test in this series. Out of the six occasions where 16 or more wickets have fallen in a day’s play in Pakistan, five have occurred in Multan.
This was the first time both teams were bowled out on the opening day of a Test match in Asia, and the 14th instance overall, with the last occurrence being in Cape Town during the New Year’s Test of 2024. The previous record for Asia was 18 wickets in a Test between India and West Indies in Delhi in 1987, while the highest on Pakistani soil before this was 15 in a match between Pakistan and New Zealand in Lahore in 1996.
Noman Ali became the sixth Pakistani bowler and the first spinner to take a hat-trick in Test matches. He is the ninth bowler overall and the third spinner to achieve this feat in Pakistan, following New Zealand’s Peter Petherick and Bangladesh’s Alok Kapali. Additionally, Noman is only the second spinner to take a hat-trick against the West Indies, after Keshav Maharaj did so in Gros Islet in 2021.
This match marked the fifth consecutive Test in which Noman has taken a five-wicket haul in at least one innings, a streak that began in Sri Lanka in July 2023. He is now one of only five bowlers to accomplish this, joining the ranks of Sydney Barnes (7), Charlie Turner (6), Alec Bedser (6), and fellow Pakistani Yasir Shah (5).
Hat-tricks for Pakistan
| Player | Against | Venue | Season |
| Wasim Akram | Sri Lanka | Lahore | 1998/99 |
| Wasim Akram | Sri Lanka | Dhaka | 1998/99 |
| Abdul Razzaq | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2000 |
| Mohammad Sami | Sri Lanka | Lahore | 2001/02 |
| Naseem Shah | Bangladesh | Rawalpindi | 2020 |
| Noman Ali | West Indies | Multan | 2024/25 |
The top three scorers for West Indies in this innings were their last three batters: Gudakesh Motie (55), Jomel Warrican (36), and Kemar Roach (25). This marks only the second time in Test cricket that players batting at 9, 10, and 11 have ended up as the top three run scorers in an innings. The only other occurrence was in the previous Test of the series during the visitors’ first innings, where Warrican (31), Jayden Seales (22), and Motie (19) led the scoring in a total of 137.
Motie scored his maiden Test half-century from a precarious position of 38/7, which is tied for the second lowest entry point for a #9 in Test innings. The only No. 9 to score a fifty from a lower entry point was Charlie Absolom (52) for England against Australia in Melbourne in 1879, during just the third official Test match. Cyril Vincent (53) of South Africa also achieved a fifty against England at the Old Wanderers in 1927, coming in at 38/7.
The tenth wicket partnership of 68 runs between Motie and Warrican contributed 41.71% to the team’s total, marking the second highest for a tenth wicket partnership for West Indies. The highest remains 50% by Roach and Miguel Cummins, who added 50 runs while batting at 50/9 against India in North Sound in 2019.
The top eight batters for West Indies managed a mere 35 runs, which is their joint second-lowest aggregate in a Test innings. Kaveem Hodge contributed 21 of those runs, while the other seven batters combined for just 14 runs. Their lowest aggregate is 34 runs against England at Lord’s in 2000, followed by 35 against India in North Sound in 2019.
West Indies’ first innings total of 163 runs is the fourth lowest first innings total where they still managed to secure a first innings lead, and it is the lowest such total in an away game. This is the first instance since 1960 in Pakistan where a team has taken a first innings lead after being bowled out for under 200.
Lowest 1t innings total with a lead for WI
| 1st inngs | Lead | Against | Season | venue | Winner |
| 102 | 21 | Eng | 1934/35 | Bridgetown | Eng |
| 149 | 15 | Aus | 1990/91 | Bridgetown | WI |
| 159 | 14 | Eng | 1997/98 | Port of Spain | Eng |
| 163 | 9 | Pak | 2024/25 | Multan | In progress |
| 190 | 28 | Eng | 1984 | The Oval | WI |
| 204 | 50 | SL | 2018 | Bridgetown | SL |
