Pakistan star Razaullah’s debut in Test cricket will go down as the light at the end of a dark tunnel for Pakistan on their nightmare tour of England, as the pacer made an immediate impact in the longest format of the game.
The 21-year-old was one of four changes the Babar Azam-led side made to their playing XI, which included debuts for three players.
Razaullah was the one who left a lasting impression as he dismissed Joe Root in his first over to register his first wicket in Test cricket. The right-arm express pacer trapped the England captain in front of the stumps after he made just eight runs. This was Root’s ninth LBW dismissal in his last 11 innings in Test cricket.
Razaullah Creates history
Razaullah’s maiden Test scalp is the second-biggest in Test cricket behind only Sachin Tendulkar. The ace pacer got the wicket of Root, who had 14,216 runs to his name in the longest format of the game. Only New Zealand’s Andy McKay’s first-ever Test wicket came off a batter with more career runs in the longest format.
Players With Maiden Test Wicket Of Player With Most Runs
| Bowler | Team | Batter (Runs At Time Of Dismissal) | Venue | Year |
| Andy McKay (New Zealand) | India | Sachin Tendulkar (14366) | Nagpur | 2010 |
| Razaullah (Pakistan) | England | Joe Root (14216) | Birmingham | 2026 |
| Peter George (Australia) | India | Sachin Tendulkar (14187) | Bengaluru | 2010 |
| Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies) | India | Rahul Dravid (12979) | Kolkata | 2011 |
| Suresh Raina (India) | Australia | Ricky Ponting (12178) | Bengaluru | 2010 |
Razaullah’s Unwanted World Record
Razaullah ended the innings by setting an unwanted world record as he took four wickets but conceded 148 runs in 23 overs at an economy of 6.40. This is the worst-ever economy by a pacer in a debut Test innings after bowling over 20 overs.
Pacers With Worst Economy On Test Debut In An Innings (Minimum 20 Overs)
| Player | Economy | Team | Opponent | Figures | Venue | Year |
| Razaullah | 6.43 | Bangladesh | England | 4-148 in 23 overs | Birmingham | 2026 |
| Nahid Rana | 6.40 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 2-128 in 20 overs | Sylhet | 2024 |
| Sohail Khan | 6.23 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 0-131 in 21 overs | Karachi | 2009 |
| Ian Buttler | 5.95 | New Zealand | England | 3-137 in 23 overs | Christchurch | 2002 |
| C Karunaratne | 5.90 | Sri Lanka | Australia | 1-130 in 22 overs | Canberra | 2019 |
Among pacers with a worse economy rate than Razaullah on Test debut in an innings, no one bowled more than 12.5 overs in an innings.
Overall, it is the third-worst by a bowler (who bowled a minimum of 20 overs) behind two spinners, Sri Lanka’s Tharindu Kushal and Pakistan’s Zahir Mahmood. Kushal made his debut against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2014. He gave away 159 runs in 22 overs while taking one wicket with an economy of 7.22. Mahmood debuted against England in 2022 at Rawalpindi and had an economy of 7.12. In his spell, he gave 235 runs in 33 overs while taking four wickets
Apart from Root, Razaullah also dismissed opening batter Emilio Gay (60), Jamie Smith (69), and Ollie Robinson (50), who all scored half-centuries.